Behind the Sun
by QueenTigris
Summary: Naruto goes nutso thanks to a rampant fox demon in his mind and goes cannibal on his fellow ninja. Gaara, the sole person who understands what Naruto is going through, does his best to stand by him. New Chapter: Recovery. NaruGaaNaru.
1. Arrival

**A/N: I'm not sure how far this will be going, but for now the plot bunny's got me by the horns. This first chapter may seem cute and fuzzy, and so will the one afterwards. But here's a warning: GORE. Not for those who can't stomach cannibalism, 'cuz Naruto's a little nutso. If you're the kind of person who laughed at a movie like _The Hills Have Eyes_, then this story will probably seem like a walk in a park of pink daisies. BTW, I'm that kind of person. Just a warning. But for now, enjoy the cuteness!  
**

**Disclaimer: Insert witticism about lack of ownership here. **

**Behind the Sun**

**: Arrival :**

* * *

"That's good stuff. What is it, again?" Naruto munched.

"Beef jerky."

Naruto nodded and ripped another bite off the strip o spicy meat with his teeth. "Is there more?"

Gaara nodded. "I figured you'd like it."

Coming to the end, Naruto stuffed the last portion into his mouth and chewed the tough meat. "Ne, ne, Gaara, where are we going?"

"Konohagakure," Gaara said, unearthing another individually-wrapped length of _Benny's Best Heartstring Jerky_ from the gourd on his back. Contrary to popular belief, he carried _more_ than just sand in that thing. "Do you remember Konoha?"

Naruto screwed up his eyes and bit his lip in contemplation as he held his hand out, waiting for the treat. "Konoha...? A hidden village?"

Gaara nodded and started stripping the plastic wrapping off the jerky. "Your village, Naruto."

The blonde blinked slowly, though it was easy to miss with his eyes already half closed. "Suna is not Naruto's village?"

Gaara sighed softly. "No, Konoha is where you were born."

"Was Gaara born in Konoha, too?" Naruto smiled happily when Gaara handed him the anticipated beef jerky.

"No, I'm from Suna, Naruto."

"Num, num." Naruto replied around a mouthful of meat.

"I can't understand you if you try to talk with your mouth full."

Naruto swallowed with an exaggerated gulp. "Yum, yum." he reiterated.

Gaara did not express his slight annoyance.

"Ne, ne, Gaara, is there lots to eat in Konoha?"

"There's Ichiraku's, your favorite ramen stand."

"Ramen?! Yay!" The hyperactive jinchuuriki danced circles around his redheaded partner. "Ramen! Ramen! Konoha must be good if it has ramen!"

A small smile jerked the corners of Gaara's mouth upward. Some things never changed.

"Ne, ne, are we there yet? How long?"

Gaara twitched, doing his best not to show his annoyance at being asked the same question for the umpteenth time in three days. "Not much longer, we should get there by sunset."

"Namen— mamen— mafffffeeeeen!" Naruto chanted as he stuffed the rest of his jerky into his mouth.

Gaara reached back for another. "Don't choke yourself."

"Ah, Kazekage-sama, I received your message." The Hokage greeted them, "I trust your journey went smoothly?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Gaara bowed respectfully.

Tsunade's eyes turned to the blonde behind the redhead, who was munching contentedly on a strip of smoked meat. "Naruto, you're back early. I heard you've been causing some trouble for our friends in Suna."

The blonde paused in his chewing to pout. "Nooooo, Naruto was good. Naruto ate what Gaara told him to."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and looked at Gaara. "You weren't kidding in your letters."

The Kazekage nodded. "He talks in third person most of the time and his vocabulary seems to be deteriorated."

Tsunade's brow furrowed. "And his memory...?"

"Inconsistent, sometimes he can't remember thing that happened more than a couple days ago, and sometimes his recall is almost flawless. Or, as flawless as Naruto's memory can be."

The Hokage smiled slightly at that, but it quickly disappeared. Her eyes roamed to the blonde in question, who had settled on the floor with the jerky steadily disappearing as he rocked back and forth, bumping his shoulder against Gaara's leg.

"Was he like this when you found him?" Though Gaara had explained the situation entirely in his letters, Tsunade wanted to hear it from him directly.

"Not quite," Gaara paused. "The way you see him now is actually much better than then."

"How so?" Tsunade pressed.

"Ne, ne, Gaaa—rrraaaa!"

The Kazekage obligingly procured another beef jerky stick and stripped it of its wrapping.

"Thank yoooouuu!" Naruto chimed, satiated again with his new treat.

The Hokage watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. "Here," she picked up the waste paper basket form the side of her desk and held it out to him.

Gaara tossed the wrapper into the bin. Then Tsunade watched bemusedly as a column of sand deposited another forty such wrappers into said bin before retracting back into its source inside the gourd.

The Hokage carefully placed the previously empty trash bin back in its place beside her desk; it was now overflowing. "Is that everything?" She raised an eyebrow at her fellow Kage when she had righted herself in her seat.

Gaara remained taciturn, his arms crossed as he watched the Hokage rest her elbows on her desk and her chin on her interlaced fingers.

"How was he when you found him?" Tsunade asked again.

The Kazekage's perpetual frown deepened. "Covered in blood, disoriented, and near-hysterical, his clothes were all torn up. I found him on the edge of the desert, near the Wind-Grass border."

Tsunade's brow furrowed. "Do you normally just stumble upon things like that that are so far away from Sunagakure? That's quite a walk."

Gaara understood her suspicion. "The wind is very steady in the desert. He happened to be upwind and I smelled the blood from miles away."

Tsunade frowned at the oblivious blonde, who was still munching happily on his spicy snack. "Whose blood was it?"

Gaara shrugged. "Hard to say. He appeared to have no injuries, but with his recovery rate that doesn't say much. Plus, it was old, all dry."

The Hokage nodded. "Describe to me in detail, if you please Kazekage-dono, his mental state at the time you found him and how he has progressed since."

"As I said before," Gaara shifted his weight onto his back leg, letting Naruto continue to thump against the other. It was very annoying when you were trying to stand still. "He was very disoriented. He didn't know where he was or why he was there when I found him. He appeared to be wandering aimlessly."

"Did he recognize you?"

Gaara turned his head to the side as if the shake it back and forth, but instead he stopped and held it there, his eyes never leaving the Hokage's. "Barely. He _knew_ me, he knew my face; but I had to remind him of my name."

Tsunade nodded.

Gaara shifted again. Standing with all the weight of himself and the gourd on one leg made the joints of his hip, knee, and ankle start to ache. He discreetly expended a bit of chakra through his spine, lifting the sand and taking a little of the weight off his back.

Tsunade motioned for him to continue.

"When I first saw him, he seemed to be in a bit of a daze. When he first saw me he seemed to calm somewhat." Gaara didn't mention that Naruto and glomped him and licked his face in the manner of a dog. "He's followed me ever since."

"Neeeee—eee," Naruto whined around a mouthful of jerky. Gaara almost lost his balance when the boy gave his knee a particularly hard knock with his shoulder.

Tsunade's lips almost smiled against her will at the sight. It was rather amusing to watch the sharp-minded and equally sharp-tempered Sabaku no Gaara attempt to look badass with a fifteen-year-old in the mindset of a toddler practically humping his leg.

"When I brought him to Suna I had him examined by our top medic-nins. They couldn't find anything wrong with him other than the amnesia." continued Gaara, keeping himself from expressing the small offense he took from the amusement in the Hokage's eyes. Any violent expression that is, nothing stopped him from narrowing his eyes slightly to intensify his usual glare.

"I see." hummed Tsunade. Her eyes dance as Naruto started tugging on Gaara's pantleg. "So, you implied that his memory improved during his stay in Suna?"

The redhead tamped down the urge to swat at Naruto's hand; instead he ignored it and bristled inwardly at the mirth in the Hokage's face. "He seems to be recovering gradually. It appears that given the proper stimuli he starts to remember."

Tsunade nodded, growing serious again as she pressed her lips to her knuckles and thought over his words. "So, I'm guessing therein lies your reason to bring him to Konoha, leaving your duties as Kazekage."

"Gaaa-raa,"

"You shouldn't feel burdened, I can arrange for a private room for him—"

"No," Gaara said. "I'll be staying with him."

"Naruto's thirsty!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She had expected such, as the Kazekage had detailed in his letters tended to have a fit if left without someone familiar for a lengthened period of time. And familiarity was in short supply with the current state of the boy's memory. "Very well," Tsunade watched as Gaara pulled a canteen from inside the sand gourd. She started to wonder what _else_ was in there, especially since neither Gaara nor Naruto appeared to carry any other luggage. "Will you be needing any accommodations?" The Hokage already knew what the answer would be.

"No."

Naruto gnawed on the canteen cap with his naturally sharp teeth until Gaara snatched it away from him.

"I understand Naruto has an apartment of his own, I'll be comfortable there."

Naruto received the waterproof container again, this time minus the cap.

Tsunade understood. The more familiar the surroundings, the more likely Naruto recovered his memory. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara bowed, as foreign dignitary should when addressing another of the same status in their homeland. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, if you don't mind..." He turned to leave.

"Ah, one more thing, Gaara-sama," Tsunade smiled when her addressee stopped at the door. "May I know how long you'll be staying in Konoha?"

Gaara didn't turn around. "I will be staying indefinitely."

The Hokage nodded and her eyes turned to Naruto, who had followed the Kazekage to the door and had taken to chewing on the now empty canteen. "So, you come back to Konoha for the first time in two years and you don't even remember me, brat?"

Naruto frowned at her around the waterproofed leather in his mouth. "Naruto remembers baa-chan." His hand brushed over the neck of the shawl around his shoulders that probably belonged to Gaara, his fingers implied what lie underneath it. "Baa-chan's necklace is Naruto's."

Tsunade's brow furrowed but she smiled all the same. "Good." Inwardly, she wondered uneasily if Naruto remembered more than just her equation to the necklace. She glanced at Gaara, "Why don't you take him around town once you get settled in? Seeing his friends again will probably do his head a world of good. I'll be coming by to see him when I get the time."

The redhead nodded curtly and shut the door behind him.

Tsunade sighed and frowned, pressing her lips against the knuckles of one fist as she pulled out a folder from a drawer of her desk. Shizune always ranted about how her desk was so disorderly and she'd probably have a fit if she ever discovered what Tsunade hid in the back of some of the drawers. But this particular bundle of documents was not simply a cover for her hidden treasures; she had genuine interest in this.

It was the personal record of Uzumaki Naruto, and she found it far from enlightening. The folder was packed full of past misdemeanors, pranks, mistakes, and complaints performed by, about, or having anything to do with Uzumaki Naruto. However, it was horribly lacking of any more useful information such as a medical history. There were of course the routine annual check-ups, but those were cursory and held no in-depth details. There were no records of Naruto ever being sick, or even injured before he became a student at the academy. The only insight given by the file was in a few personal entries by the Sandaime Hokage and later on one by Naruto's chuunin teacher Umino Iruka, but those were few and far between.

However, one detail of note she remembered from one of the previous Hokage's entrees caught her eyes again as she re-read it all. As a byproduct of a severe deficiency in social contact and interaction while very young, Naruto tended to speak in third person up until a few years before he joined Umino's class.


	2. Say Sorry

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 2: Say Sorry**

* * *

Gaara had been meaning to take this slowly and proceed with utmost caution. He wanted to very gently and comfortably integrate Naruto back into the community of his home town, and hopefully by doing so, achieve Naruto's mental recovery. 

Unfortunately, when it came to Naruto things tended to deviate from the plan. Even Gaara's plan.

"Baka! You stay away from Akamaru!"

Naruto was on all fours, growling at the large white dog which replied with equal aggression.

"What? Do you think you're an animal now, you crazy?" raged the dog-nin. Gaara was almost positive he remembered him for his surprising defeat to the boy he was currently yelling at in the Chuunin exam preliminaries a few years back. Inu... Inu— something.

"K— Kiba-kun... Naruto-kun..." pleaded the timid girl Gaara didn't remember at all.

Naruto was unheeding of the Konoha-nin's protests. Gaara stepped in and grabbed the growling boy by the collar as he readied himself to lunge at the animal that had offended him.

Akamaru recoiled at the sudden appearance of the redhead as he caught a whiff of the familiar scent that came with him.

"Graaaaaaagrrrph!" rumbled Naruto as Gaara pulled him backwards.

The owner of the nin-dog looked about to yell at the intruder as well before re recognized the face and scent. "Wha... the Sand kid?"

Akamaru whimpered and hid behind his master's legs.

Gaara gave him and his dog a low-grade threatening glare. That basically translated to, "I'll kill you if you so much as piss your pants in my presence."

Naruto struggled in his grip, flailing his arms and rumbling lowly in his throat.

"Ramen," said Gaara, monitoring Naruto's reaction carefully.

Naruto stopped and looked up at his captor. "Now?"

A single nod.

"Yes! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Gaara let go of the boy lest he find himself dragged down the street in his enthusiasm.

"What the hell? Hey!" Kiba yelled as Gaara turned to follow his charge. "You! What did you do to Naruto?"

Gaara paused.

"K—Kiba-kun..." The girl warned; or pleaded really.

"He's even stupider than usual!"

Gaara did not turn around. "He hit his head."

Kiba blinked. And Gaara was gone. Then he laughed out loud. "Well, that's funny! I thought that's what's been wrong with him all along!"

Hinata pushed her fingers together.

"You _do_ realize that that was the Kazekage you were addressing so rudely only a moment ago?"

Kiba jumped. "Ahh! Don't do that, you idiot!" Akamaru barked at the bespectacled sneak. "And what do you mean Kazekage?"

Shino sighed inwardly. "Gaara, he's the Kazekage of Sunagakure."

Kiba blinked slowly. "Y-you mean...? That maniac is...?"

"He's actually quite popular in Suna now, according to my sources."

"Shit!" Kiba clasped his temples with terror in his eyes. "I'm gonna die!"

Shino was feeling cruel so he somehow forgot to mention that it had been years since Gaara had gone on a murderous rampage, according to reports.

"A... ano..."

By now well-attuned to their teammate's quiet voice, the boys turned to her.

"N-Naruto-kun... he— he seemed..."

"Crazy?" Kiba supplied. "More so than usual?"

"Gaara-sama mentioned a head injury."

Hinata focused on her twisting fingers. "I... I... wonder if he's alright?"

Kiba shrugged. "Does it matter? I'm more worried about that Sand kid..."

"Perhaps the more apt question is what is Kazekage-sama doing in Konoha with Naruto? He had other duties to attend to, so why bother with a Konoha-nin with head trauma?"

"I— I think..."

"I bet it was the Sand kid who messed that idiot up in the first place."

"I..."

"It doesn't help to just make assumptions like that."

"Ano..."

"Well, then what do _you_ think, huh?"

"I think they're friends." The voice was smaller than usual.

"What?" Kiba asked louder than was necessary.

"I think... I think... they're friends."

Kiba frowned. "Friends? Naruto and the Sand kid? Sure, they're both freaks but that doesn't automatically friendly with each other." The dog-nin's eyes widened suddenly in realization. "Unless... the Sand guy is faking liking Naruto so he can infiltrate Konoha!" He gasped. "That explains it! You know how Naruto is always starved for attention! Knowing that idiot he probably wouldn't notice anything wrong!" Akamaru barked. "Yes, yes, I know! Damn, we've gotta tell everyone else!"

Shino ignored the boy's rant and let him run off to spread his stupidity. After all, it has already been said that he was feeling particularly cruel that day. Or particularly lazy, either way. "What makes you think they're friends?" Shino asked of his last remaining team member.

"Etou..." Hinata looked away and started twiddling her thumbs. "Ano..."

Shino was a very patient person.

"I... I've seen them... together sometimes."

The bug-nin frowned inwardly. "Naruto hasn't been to Konoha for two years." And they had yet to visit Suna in the travels of team ten.

Hinata studied her fingers. "Before Naruto left for training... and after the Chuunin exam... I saw them sitting together of the rooftops in the night... sometimes..."

Shino nodded imperceptibly. "I see."

* * *

Gaara was slowly discovering that he was having _one of those days_. 

"What do you mean you don't know me?" The girl with the horridly unfortunately-colored hair screeched. "I can't believe this!"

Naruto whined, his hands over his ears.

"I've been your teammate for all this time and all it takes is two years for you to forget me!" If Gaara wasn't standing in the way with his palm gripping Naruto's shoulder the girl probably would have struck him. "What about all those times I saved your ass, huh? Or even the times when you saved mine? You're such an idiot!"

Gaara had half a mind to just ignore the highly-annoying pink-haired monstrosity, but as he felt a slight tremor pass through Naruto's shoulders he knew that would be a bad idea. He really did not feel like filling out the paperwork that would ensue if he let Naruto go.

"Excuse me," his voice was low, monotone, and unassuming; but the underlying threat that haunted every sound and movement Gaara made was ever present. "I'd advise you to be quiet now."

Sakura paused in her frantic ranting and gesturing to blink at him. Perhaps she considered turning her anger on him, but it soon disappeared to simmer below the surface of her expression. It _was_ Sabaku no Gaara she was looking at, after all.

"And I'd like you to say you're sorry."

The kunoichi recoiled at that. "What? Why would I—"

"Because," Gaara's eyes narrowed just a smidgeon more. "I _advised you_ to do so."

Sakura stared at him. Blood-red hair, pseudo-eyeliner markings, _ai_ tattoo... yes, this was Sabaku no Gaara that was asking her to apologize to an idiot. (_An idiot who didn't _deserve_ an apology!_) She shivered. Creepy... "Um,"

Gaara growled with a mixture of exasperation and hostility. Naruto was still crouched on the ground half behind him, his hands covering his ears and his eyes screwed shut. "He's had a head injury."

The girl's eyes widened. "What? Does he have amnesia? Let me..." She started towards Naruto with the intent of a medical examination but Gaara stepped in the way of her advance.

"I can assure you," Gaara's voice rumbled in his chest. "That he has already been given the proper medical attention. Now, I shall reiterate: Say, 'sorry.'"

Sakura glanced from Naruto to the menacing redhead staring her down. "Um, sorry?" She tried to tell herself that she was apologizing because she actually meant it, not because Gaara was really scary. "If... if he really has amnesia then I guess it was wrong of me to..."

"No, you have to say it louder: '_I'm sorry, Naruto_.' Say it." Gaara pointed downward, indicating that Sakura needed to address the blonde boy at his feet.

Sakura tried not to dwell on the weirdness that Gaara implicated in this situation as she obediently knelt down, always keeping one eye on the Sand-nin. "Um, Naruto?" Okay, so she felt a _little_ twinge of guilt when the idiot actually flinched. "I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Naruto opened one cautious eye.

She smiled at him.

"Not Naruto's fault?"

Sakura cocked her head and frowned slightly at Naruto's new speech pattern. Now that she knew that it was due to a head injury it seemed even stranger. "No, Naruto, it was my fault. A misunderstanding." She glanced up at Gaara. "What exactly happened to him?"

Gaara didn't reply for a moment. "He hit his head."

Sakura managed to put a lid on her annoyance at the non-informatory quality of his answer. Instead she looked back at Naruto. Surely, if he could remember Gaara then he could remember her. She had known him longer after all. "Alright, Naruto, let's try this again. I'm Sakura, we've been teammates since we graduated from the Academy. Do you remember me?" She put on her best, most comely smile. Naruto had practically been in love with her for years, to remember her he probably only needed a little push.

Naruto stared at her for nearly a minute, his eyes half-closed. "Meh," and he jumped behind the protective barrier of Gaara's legs again.

Sakura couldn't say that she felt a little hurt. This _was_ Naruto, wasn't it? He was supposed to be head-over-heels fallen for her; in the past the smile she had just given him would have had him groveling at her feet.

Gaara couldn't say he took no small pleasure from the pain that passed over the girl's face. Call it schadenfreude. Her hair pissed him off. "Yelling at him isn't exactly the best way to reacquaint yourself with him." Yes, Gaara was gloating. But no observer could see that from any of the non-extant tell-tale signs in his voice or face.

Sakura bit her lip and straightened herself, keeping her eyes one the blonde peeking at her from between Gaara's ankles. "How exactly did he get like this?"

"He hit his head."

Again, Sakura found herself fighting the urge to snap at the redundancy. "Has Tsunade seen him?"

Gaara shrugged one shoulder. "Yes."

"Oh," Sakura struggled for words. It wasn't easy keeping a conversation going with an antisocial psychopath and a victim of head trauma that was currently hiding from her via crouching behind said psychopath.

"Um, what _does_ he remember?" She fidgeted. "He must have... I mean... he's lived here all his life."

"Very little."

Sakura was starting to get really ticked off with this guy. Something about how his crystallized aqua eyes pierced her never ceased to make her uncomfortable but his failure to answer her questions with a satisfying reply was seriously trying her patience.

"Naruto is boo-oored!" Naruto singsonged. Apparently, his attention span had remained unchanged.

Gaara's eyes flicked downward. "Are you hungry?" They had only just left the ramen stand.

"Noooo..." Naruto rolled onto his back, blinking up at them both against the sun. "Naruto wants to play a game!"

Sakura was at a loss for words. Naruto had always been childish, but this was ridiculous.

Gaara glanced up and down the street, as if searching for something to keep the boy occupied. "Why don't we..."

"Naruto wants to play Chase!"

"... play a new game?"

The blonde jumped up almost instantly. "A new game! Yeah! Yeah!" he hopped up and down. "How? How!"

Gaara pulled a folded piece of paper from behind his sash. "It's called 'Find the Place.'"

Naruto became rapt with attention.

"Now, this place can be found due to a particular mixture of scents. You have only found this place if _all_ of these scents are there—"

"What? What? What?" If Naruto had a tail it would be wagging vigorously.

"It smells like this: Naruto, ramen, sour milk,"

Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"Mold, and..." Gaara paused. "Lysol."

"Blech." Naruto apparently didn't like Lysol's scent.

"You'll find it on a street that smells like chicken and cat litter."

"Okay! Okay! Naruto knows, can Naruto go now?" he was jumping from foot to foot.

Naruto vanished as Gaara made a dismissive motion with his hand.

Sakura had been watching the exchange with a bemused frown. She would have found the situation comical if it weren't so _weird_. "Um... where did you send him?"

Gaara glanced at the piece of paper in his hand. "Apartment 3 in the C complex on 23rd street."

It wasn't until Gaara was already half way down the street before she recognized the address. That was Naruto's address.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. This chapter has actually been in my notebook for... um... over a month? Heh, yeah, I'm lazy.** **Anyways, the fluff will soon all but disappear I'm afraid... 'cuz the next chapter is were we start to dip into what exactly Naruto's head is up to. For those who don't like character deaths... this is a warning. I'll put a bigger warning when I actually get to it at the beginning of the first chapter containing it, but for now there will be a couple minor character deaths. Hehe... this is gonna be fun... (giggles maniacally)**

**schadenfreude****: It's a German word for basically "happiness at the misfortune of others." Heh, it's almost like Gaara's philosophy. Or at least it was before Naruto.**

** By the way, for those who didn't catch on, when I put italics in parentheses I was inciting to voice of inner Sakura. I meant for it to be subtle, but I just felt like pointing it out for future reference.  
**


	3. Bacon

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, it just took a long time for me to find time to type this up. I'm so busy! Ach, anyways...**

**To _Spirit Chu_: Ach! Plot hole. XD Yeah, I probably should have mentioned... well, Gaara knows what Naruto smells like, and he's been in the vicinity of his apartment before, plus he's got a really strong sense of smell. Yeah... sorry about that.**

** By the way, to those who have been asking whether certain characters will be dying, etc. (I love Iruka and Kakashi, too!), I'm not writing this just to kill all the characters I hate. I don't particularly like Sasuke. But am I going to kill him and then have Naruto and Gaara feast on his corrupted emo little heart? No, that would never fit in the plot line. Plus it wouldn't be as fun as simply scratching his eyes out and letting him live the rest of his sharingan-less life like that, heh.**

** ... But I digress. What I'm saying is that everyone that dies (at least among the important people) will die for some sort of significant reason. So, yeah... whatever. I hate author's notes. Just read.**

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 3: Bacon  
**

* * *

Gaara had never been inside Naruto's apartment. He had sat on the roof, and even on the balcony before, but he had always declined any invitation to enter the blonde's home. 

So, when he unlocked the door with the key he had taken from Naruto's belongings, the only real expectation he had was that he was about to enter into a place owned and cared for by Uzumaki Naruto.

But Gaara was surprised and somewhat disappointed at what he actually found. He had expected a mess, and there was a mess. Discarded ramen cups littered the floor, the kitchen surfaces, and a corner in the bedroom. A disorderly pile of ninja scrolls sat on the floor in the living room. The laundry was piled high in both the bathroom and the bedroom. Dirty dishes overflowed the kitchen sink.

But beyond the litter the counters were spotless. No cooking grime stuck to the stove. The wooden living room floor was smooth and polished beneath his bare feet. The bathroom smelled like lemons. There was a healthy little leafy plant on the window sill above Naruto's unmade bed.

But the most striking and disappointing part of it all was that it seemed so empty. Of course, no one had lived there for two years, as the light sheen of dust over everything testified. But wandering the apartment now, flicking on all the lights, Gaara felt a distinct impression of loneliness settle over him.

It was odd, since to Gaara Naruto seemed to be the least lonely person on earth. He knew everybody, he talked to everybody, he smiled at everybody, even strangers. But inside his quiet little apartment, Gaara couldn't help but feel a disconnection from the world outside. He had never considered himself a connected person, but inside Naruto's apartment Gaara felt like he was exploring the two-hundred-year-old ruins of a forgotten landscape rather than the home of the world's loudest ninja.

There was very little furniture. A TV and DVD player sat on the floor in the living room. A short little coffee table held a remote and a few magazines. A large square pillow sat beside it. There was no bookcase to hold the scrolls in the corner. A refrigerator, a table, and a chair, and that was all that furnished the kitchen. And in the bedroom was a messy bed and a dresser with two picture frames on top whose images were obscured by the thick dust. A poster above the bed bore the symbol of Konoha, as if to remind the occupant that was where they were. Other than that the walls were blank white plaster everywhere— a calendar in the kitchen, an obscure pattern of blue lines and circles on the wallpaper in the bathroom. Some part of Gaara had expected the place to be entirely orange.

But by his third round of the small, lonely apartment Gaara discovered another thing that was slightly off. Naruto wasn't there.

Glancing out of the window, he started to worry. It was dark now, which meant Naruto had been out on his own for nearly an hour. Usually that was okay, but they weren't in Suna anymore with its unfamiliar faces and places. They were in Konoha, where Naruto was likely to recognize something.

But before Gaara could even put his sandals back on, Naruto was there. He smelled the acrid scent that suddenly permeated the air before he felt the crackle of unsteady chakra on his senses.

Gaara turned around slowly. He knew that scent; he knew it too well.

Naruto sat in the middle of the floor, apologizing to him with crystal blue eyes. "Naruto was bad." Red liquid dripped from a reddened spike of hair as he spoke. "Naruto is sorry."

Gaara nodded and stepped across the room to swipe a sandy palm over a whiskered cheek to absorb the blood there.

"But Naruto didn't eat." The blonde shook his head back and forth to accentuate this point, splattering Gaara's face with crimson droplets that the sand armor absorbed in the next moment.

Gaara understood what Naruto was saying. "Who did you kill?" It was a rather pointless question. Naruto rarely remembered much of what he had done after one of his episodes.

Naruto bit his lip, tasting the blood there, and shook his head.

Gaara sighed softly. "Did anyone see?"

The blonde hesitated before shaking his head again.

Nodding, Gaara pulled them both to their feet. "Come now, let's get you cleaned up." A trail of sand followed them to the bathroom, picking up any blood left behind.

* * *

The next morning was bright and sunny, flooding Naruto's upper floor apartment with warmth. Gaara had spent a wary night of anticipating an ANBU attack incase Naruto had been tracked. That meant Naruto's once harmless little apartment was now full of hidden explosive notes, trip wires, and spring-loaded projectiles. 

But the ANBU never came.

So, Gaara dusted to pass the time. For someone who spent most of his time with his entire body caked with dirt, Gaara really hated dirty things.

And this was just what Sabaku no Gaara was doing when a knock interrupted his silence.

It was no secret that Gaara was a cynical person, and the first thought that came into his head was a snide comment on the Konoha ANBU's incompetence for taking so long. But when Gaara could sense no other entities within the vicinity of the apartment complex other than the lone being at the front door, his suspicions only grew.

Gaara was met with the sight of a pair of brown grocery bags on legs when he cautiously cracked the door open.

"Naruto?" the grocery bags turned to the side to reveal a brown-haired Konoha nin with a scar across his nose. "Oh! Ah... I heard Naruto was back." The man blushed lightly. Then he squinted at the half of Gaara's face the door allowed him to see. The red _ai_ tattoo caught his eye. "Aren't you... Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara opened the door wider, so he could give the man his full glare. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he commanded.

The scarred man hesitated. "I... I'm Umino Iruka. I've been taking care of Naruto's plants and things while he's been gone." He paused again, shifting the bags in his arms. "Pardon, Kazekage-sama, but is Naruto home? I heard he came back and I brought him some groceries, and well..."

Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow. It took a ninja to tell the difference, but it did give his glare a slightly more crazed look.

Iruka fumbled. "I... may I see him?"

"Senseeeeei!" Gaara turned just in time to dodge the bundle of blonde energy that suddenly barreled past him and into the burdened ninja at the door. Said ninja and burdens were all over the floor in a second.

Gaara stepped aside to avoid a head of lettuce that was homing in on his toes and looked on as Naruto nuzzled his teacher, who was currently sprawled on the floor with the afore mentioned blonde depressing his ribcage.

"N-naruto!" Iruka laughed. "How do you always manage to surprise me like that?"

Naruto grinned and chuckled deep in his throat.

Iruka pushed himself up with his arms, letting the boy tumble into his lap. "How have you been, huh? I haven't heard from you in so long!" He grinned as his student purred when he ruffled his hair. "Did you learn lots of stuff? You've gotten stronger, huh?"

"Yeah! Naruto knows how to sit and stay!"

Iruka blinked.

Gaara winced.

The Umino's expression turned chagrinned. "Figures that it took two years of training with one of the sannin to teach you that."

"Naruto can 'come,' too!"

Iruka's eyebrows jumped. "Can you fetch?"

That gave Naruto pause. "Nooo..." he turned around. "Gaara! How does Naruto 'fetch?'"

Iruka jerked slightly as he looked up; he had forgotten that the redhead was standing there.

Gaara grimaced. While the concept had been rather amusing to his brother, Gaara hated treating Naruto like a dog. "Doesn't matter."

The blonde pouted.

Iruka was frowning, glancing between the two of them. "Naruto... I heard you weren't feeling well...?"

Naruto gave him a blank look. "Nooo... Naruto is good!" exclaimed he.

Gaara sighed softly. Normally he'd rather just shut the door in the man's face and get back to his dusting, but if Naruto remembered him without prompting, then that made this stranger a promising individual. "He's had a head injury." Gaara offered.

Umino's eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

"So far, you're the first person he's fully recognized without prompting."

Iruka looked down at the boy in his lap. He studied the blue eyes that smiled back at him; they seemed as bright as ever. He smiled and ruffled the boy's hair again, noticing how Naruto closed his eyes and leaned into his touch. He was still as responsive to physical contact as Iruka remembered, albeit the boy was more open about it. "Did you miss me, Naruto?" He couldn't think of much else to say. He worried how extensive the brain damage was, and how permanent.

Naruto pursed his lips in thought. "Naruto _thinks_ so."

Iruka refused to let his smile falter.

"Naruto doesn't know much." The boy apologized sadly.

Iruka turned on his grin full force and scratched vigorously behind the boy's ears, which he had recently discovered the other enjoyed immensely. "I missed you, too, Naruto!"

"Ah ahh... nyah..." purred Naruto.

"Mah... am I late?" drawled a new voice.

Iruka's head snapped back at an unfortunate-looking angle to blush at the newcomer. "K-kakashi!"

Gaara renewed his glare for him.

The silver-haired jounin waved at them all. "Hullo, I take it Jiraiya isn't around?"

"We are unaware of his whereabouts." Gaara didn't skip a beat.

Kakashi nodded, pursing his lips under his mask. He looked down at the blonde who was squinting at him curiously. "Hey, Naruto, wassup?" He swatted a hand through the air in a poor imitation of a friendly wave.

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Scarecrow-man smells like sex.

Iruka spluttered and burned red and had Kakashi not been wearing a mask the group would have seen a very undignified expression on his face for one such as the aloof jounin.

Gaara sniffed the air discreetly. The boy's nose flew sharp and true.

The expression on Kakashi's face quickly turned into a lecherous grin. Not that anyone could see it except by examining the concealing folds of his mask and the mischievous glint in his eye. So what if he was too lazy to get a clean change of clothes in the morning? At least he was rewarded with that adorable blush. "So, how would you happen to know what sex smells like, Naruto?"

"'Cuz Naruto's smelled it before!" The boy's crazy grin didn't falter, even though Gaara _knew_ he could feel the murderous intent he was pouring into the back of his thick blonde head.

Iruka turned from embarrassed to downright appalled. "What?! What has that pervert been teaching you?"

Naruto frowned and jerked a thumb over his shoulder questioningly. "Gaara?"

Kakashi giggled perversely, and Iruka reprimanded him with a glare. "No, I— nevermind."

"Naruto's hungry!" he suddenly exclaimed.

Iruka and Kakashi stared at him as the boy clambered off the chuunin's lap to hug Gaara's legs.

"Naruto would like breakfast now!" and after a thought, "please!"

Gaara had been wondering when Naruto's stomach would catch up with him. He was usually ravenous right after waking up. "First, you have to help get all the groceries into the kitchen." It was easy to manipulate him as long as food was on the line.

"Alright!" Naruto obediently jumped to snatch up as many of the scattered groceries as he could. "Naruto wants bacon! And eggs! And apple juice!" he started listing as he carried his armload past Gaara and into the apartment.

Iruka chuckled as he stood up, brushing himself off. "He certainly hasn't lost any of his energy."

"Frankly," Kakashi scratched his messy head. "I can't tell the difference between the normal Naruto and this brain-damaged Naruto other than the whole third person thing."

Iruka pierced him with an irked glance.

"Try asking him if he remembers your name." Gaara commented. He turned and walked away towards the kitchen where Naruto could be heard crashing around as he fumbled for a place to set down his load. He left the door open, leaving the invitation open for interpretation. He wasn't one for company, but anything that Naruto remembered tended to be a good thing.

A moment later, Iruka and Kakashi joined them in the kitchen, each with the remainder of the groceries in their arms.

"Does Sensei and Scarecrow-man want breakfast, too? Will Gaara make a BIG pancake breakfast?"

"I think we'll stick with the bacon and eggs idea." Gaara had already pulled the necessary ingredients from what Iruka had brought.

The chuunin teacher was frowning as he started pattering around Naruto's small kitchen, putting things away in the proper cabinets; he often helped Naruto with such things when he used to bring the boy's weekly groceries years ago. Otherwise, Iruka had feared that he would attempt to sustain himself on nothing but ramen.

"Naruto," he spun around suddenly. "What's my name?" he pointed at his own face.

The boy hesitated; he was perched like a cat on the only chair in the room. "Sensei...?"

Iruka's face faltered. "His name?" he pointed at Kakashi, who was currently inspecting the disappointingly empty fridge.

Naruto shrugged.

Gaara sighed softly as he started the burner.

Kakashi looked up and closed the fridge. "What's this? I don't even get a sensei?"

Naruto attempted to process what it was that they wanted from him. "Scarecrow-man." said he, seemingly think this was a satisfying answer.

Iruka clenched his jaw. "Iruka," he slowly pronounced, pointing to himself, then Kakashi, "Kakashi."

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto repeated. "Kaka-kashi."

"Ka-ka-shi," Iruka tried again. "Kakashi-sensei."

"Kaka-kashi," Naruto grinned.

The jounin suspected that the boy was doing it on purpose.

Iruka mad a despairing sound. "He... does he..." he turned to Gaara, "remember _anything_? How did this happen?"

"He hit his head."

Iruka stuttered. "But... but _how_? What happened?"

The bacon hissed as Gaara applied them to the pan. "No idea."

"What? But... but!" the chuunin flapped his hands helplessly. "How could... where's Jiraiya?"

Kakashi raised an unseen eyebrow when Gaara only shrugged. "Where did you find him, then?"

"Naruto's hun-greee!"

"In the desert, he was walking in circles." Gaara carefully flipped an egg.

"No sign of Jiraiya, huh?" Kakashi pressed.

Gaara glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "He wasn't around."

Kakashi nodded, rubbing his masked chin melodramatically. "Hmm... I see."

"But... but..." Iruka made an effort to stop his stuttering by biting his lip. "He..."

"How long do you think until he returns to his ninja duties?" Kakashi asked cheerfully as if Naruto was ailing from only a common cold.

Iruka choked on a sob as Gaara shrugged. "How... how..." he hiccupped and pressed his palm to his eyes. "Naruto doesn't deserve this... he... he..." Kakashi patted the man's shaking shoulders. "Why does everything bad happen to _him_?" the chuunin wailed.

Naruto squirmed from his perch on the kitchen chair. "Why does Sensei cry? Was Naruto bad?"

"No," Gaara snapped as he dropped a plate of eggs in front of him with a clatter and turned back to the stove to tend to the bacon.

Iruka sniffed. "I'm sorry, Naruto... I should have been there..."

Naruto stared at him from over his plate and chewed in bemusement. "Sensei wasn't bad. Sensei doesn't need to say, 'sorry.' Bacon!"

Gaara had barely put the fried pork on his plate before it was viciously attacked and consequently disappeared.

Iruka tried to smile through teary eyes. "I'm sorry," he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed. "I don't usually get this emotional."

"Eh? Well, I wouldn't say that, Iruka. It was only last night that you were— ka!" Kakashi was silenced with a sudden and enraged jab at his throat. He sidestepped it easily but he wisely kept his mouth shut after that.

Iruka took a deep breath.

Gaara silently delivered another strip of bacon that was speedily and noisily devoured.

The chuunin admitted a chagrinned smile as Naruto dived back into the last remains of his eggs face-first. "Naruto! Didn't I teach you anything? Use a fork!"

The boy turned his face to him, his cheeks full and egg dribbling down his chin. His expression scrunched into one of defiance, "No!"

Iruka was not one for insolence. "What? What did you say? You _will_ use a fork, whether you like it or not!"

"Naruto will not!"

"You will! In fact, here! Use this!"

Naruto shied away from the utensil that had been retrieved from his own silverware drawer and was now being waved in his face. "No! Naruto won't!"

"Take it! Naruto! Hey, come back here!"

"Nooo!"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Mah... he may not remember much but he's still pretty much the same in principle."

"He never liked forks?" The pan sizzled anew as Gaara flipped over another strip of bacon and deposited a sufficiently fried piece on the plate designated for cooling.

Kakashi chuckled quietly. "No necessarily... What I meant was that he's just a resilient as ever when it comes to something he doesn't want to do."

A crash resounded from the living room, and Naruto's laughter accompanied Iruka's yell. "Narutoooo!"

Comparatively, the kitchen was silent for a moment besides the sizzling of frying meat.

"So..." Kakashi felt strangely out of place. He wondered if it was the pink cooking apron adorning the Kazekage that was throwing him off. Or maybe it was just Naruto's house. He had never felt quite right in the place. "You got here yesterday, huh?"

"Evening." Gaara set aside another piece of bacon.

The jounin nodded. "Yeah... it's strange..." he trailed off.

The redhead didn't rise to the bait.

"Y'know, yesterday... there was an animal attack. Right in the middle of the village."

Gaara was very good at hiding things. Keeping his jolt of anxiety to himself was easy.

"I thought it was strange... the nins who inspected the scene said it looked like a bear did it. Kazekage-sama, do you know how a bear could get into a hidden village of shinobi without raising suspicions? I figured you might give me an idea."

The grease hissed as Gaara added more meat to the pan. "It's your village."

Kakashi nodded. "I see. Thank you, anyway, Kazekage-sama."


	4. Chew Toy

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 4: Love**

* * *

"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto invented a tune as he danced in circles down the street. 

Gaara followed silently, keeping to the shadows on the west side of the boulevard.

"Ramen! Ramen! Naruto wants ramen now!"

Ichiraku chuckled as the hyper blonde leapt onto a stool at his ramen bar. "Welcome back! What will you order today, Naruto?"

"Pork!"

"Coming right up!"

"Yatta! Sit next to Naruto, Gaa-chan!"

Gaara sighed softly as he complied. It had been a long day. Without Temari and Kankurou to divide Naruto's attention Gaara was left to feel the full force of the hyper blonde. Gaara hoped the boy could make friends with some Konoha people soon so he could dump him on them for at least part of the day.

"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto started up again, this time to a different tune.

"Naruto? I heard a rumor you were back in town."

Naruto paused in his singing to glance at the owner of the voice on the bench beside him. "Who're you? Hey! Do you like ramen, too?"

Shikamaru stared at him with his usual glazed look.

"Hey, Naruto!" Chouji waved from around his slouching friend. "It's been a while! Did you eat any good food while abroad?"

The blonde's eyes sparkled as his entire face lit up. "YES! Naruto ate lots of good stuff! Like rabbit! Gaara let Naruto eat lots of rabbit! And deer! And even rattlesnake!" He smacked his lips. "But Gaara doesn't like it when Naruto tries to catch rattlesnake, so Naruto couldn't have too much."

Chouji didn't even blink. "That sounds great! I've never tried rattlesnake!"

Shikamaru leant forward, his head almost parallel with the table, to look at the scowling redhead on the other side of Naruto. "Sabaku no Gaara, huh?"

Naruto took that as a change of subject and jumped on it. "Yeah! Gaa-chan is Naruto's favorite person in the _whole_ world!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

Gaara twitched, but not from annoyance or killing intent for once. Brain-impaired or not, Gaara's damaged ego always appreciated a well-meant compliment.

"So, Naruto, what's my name?"

The boy's smile faltered as he studied the lazy ninja and contemplated the question. "Etou..."

Shikamaru hummed. "So the rumor about the amnesia is true."

"Where'd you hear that, Shikamaru?"

"Temari, I believe," Gaara smirked inwardly as Shikamaru sent him an irked look for letting loose that tidbit of information. _Heehee! Oh, small evils..._

Temari-neechan!" exclaimed Naruto. "Will Naruto see Temari-neechan?"

"Temari is in Suna."

Naruto paused.

"We are in Konoha." Gaara clarified.

"Oh!" the blonde twisted excitedly in his seat. "Naruto knows where Suna is! Naruto _knows_!"

Gaara smiled through his eyes. Despite the fact that Naruto could be painfully oblivious even without brain damage, he was still very much aware of the fact that there was something— quite a few somethings even— that he was missing. So when he found he knew something more than his own name and that he liked ramen, the boy was ecstatic.

"Wati, but what did you mean about a rumor, Shikamaru?" wondered Chouji.

"Tch," the genius sipped his drink. "He has amnesia."

Chouji blinked. "Eh?"

"Will Gaara take Naruto to see Temari-neechan? To Suna!"

"No," Gaara pushed the overly enthused blonde back into his seat with a hand on his shoulder. "Eat your ramen."

"Ramen!" he cheered as the newly brewed broth was delivered to him by a smiling Old Man Ichiraku. "Itadakimasu!"

"So you mean..." Chouji munched a chip to help him think. "That he can't remember stuff?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"Like... how? He remembered the food he had eaten, hadn't he?"

"It's troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled. "Didn't you notice? He didn't recognize us."

"Oh..." Chouji glanced over at the ravenous blonde. "Now that you mention it... isn't it kinda odd that he's been talking in third person?"

Shikamaru gave him a slightly annoyed look.

"More, please!" Naruto held his empty bowl above his head.

Ichiraku chuckled as he placed the new bowl in front of the blonde. They had learned long ago that it was a good idea to cook a huge batch of ramen just for Naruto whenever he came.

The good-natured cook smiled at the redhead accompanying his hungriest patron. "I take it you'll be paying again? Would you like anything?"

A curt nod, no answer for the second question: Ichiraku too that for a 'yes' and a 'no.'

"Naruto," the blonde looked up, his cheeks bulging. "Is it true you have amnesia?"

Naruto stared at the Akimichi, squinting, before swallowing, and looking at Gaara. At the redhead's half-assed nod, he said, "Yes!"

"So, like you... what can't you remember?"

Naruto thought about that for a moment, his chopsticks poised over his ramen. "Eh..." he shrugged. "Naruto can't remember."

"Oh..." Chouji thought for a minute, tapping his chin as Naruto dived back into his ramen. "Wait, do you remember me?"

Naruto swallowed his mouthful and glanced at Gaara. "Eh... is Naruto supposed to?"

"I'm Chouji! Y'know, we took the Chuunin exams together!"

The blonde bit his lip, glancing between Chouji and an unresponsive redhead. "Ahh... Naruto is sorry. Naruto has never met Chouji before."

The Akimichi blinked and sat back on his stool. "You don't even remember the Chuunin exams? Do you remember Shikamaru?" The boy gestured to his friend beside him. "The three of us played around in the Academy sometimes."

Naruto hesitated. "Um... um... Naruto is very sorry." His shoulders drooped and he slouched over his cooling ramen. "Naruto doesn't... remember anything."

"Naruto! Your ramen's getting cold! Hurry up, we brewed plenty for you!" exclaimed Old Man Ichiraku as he came back from the kitchen beyond.

"Naruto isn't hungry..." the boy mumbled.

"Not hungry? You're never not hungry! What's on your mind?"

The blonde looked desolate, staring blankly into his ramen. "Naruto can't remember anything."

Ichiraku kept smiling. He had figured out the gist of Naruto's situation just the day before when the boy had arrived at the stand and had simply looked at him dumbly when he greeted him as their best customer.

"_But Naruto's never been here before..." _he had looked so distressed. _ "Naruto... Naruto doesn't know you!"_

"That's alright," the ramen cook found himself saying. He hated to see this usually bright and happy boy, whom he had grown fond of over the years, looking so down. "it'll all come back to you eventually."

The boy gave him a half-hopeful, half-suspicious look. "Old Man really thinks so?"

"I know so," he smiled as big as he could.

Naruto bit his lip and stared into his ramen for a minute, seemingly contemplating the noodles in the broth.

"Naruto has a headache..." he said after a while, sounding like a child ashamed and demoralized.

Gaara sighed and stood up slowly, letting his spine adjust to the weight of the gourd on his back being repositioned.

"We'll be leaving now." he said, throwing down a wad of bills on the table.

Naruto whined softly and grabbed Gaara's hand as the redhead led him away from the ramen stand.

"... Do you think he's okay?"

"The Kazekage is taking care of him." Shikamaru didn't appear to care.

"Yeah, but... what do you think happened to him to make him like that?" Chouji waited almost a full minute for his friend's answer.

"There's a rumor... that Gaara did it."

"You don't actually _believe_ Kiba's theory, do you?" Chouji rolled his eyes. "_I_ don't even believe Kiba's theories."

"Yeah..." Shikamaru frowned. "But that Sand guy obviously knows something. What I don't get is why the Kazekage would go to all the trouble of taking care of a foreign nin of genin status? Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't make sense unless Gaara is directly related."

Chouji leant forward. "So you think Gaara really _did_ do it?"

Shikamaru picked up his cup. "No... it makes even less sense that way."

"Well... do you have any theories?"

Instead of answering, Shikamaru changed the subject. "Y'know it's kinda weird... you know with Kiba and that bear thing last night..."

* * *

Naruto continued to whine occasionally, clutching his head, as Gaara dragged him down the street. 

His mumblings of "Naruto doesn't feel good," and "Naruto's head hurts," soon turned into a guttural rumble of "Naruto is _hungry_."

Gaara glanced back to find he was being watched with slitted red eyes. Gaara picked up the pace.

Why did Ichiraku's have to be right smack dab in the middle of town? On such short notice, Gaara doubted he could just walk out the main gates. Even if he was the Kazekage, the guards would want to ask some questions, and stopping to talk with Naruto working himself into a frenzy... would only result in more questions to be answered. Gaara hated questions.

Therefore, his best option, if he didn't want to unleash a half-crazed, bloodthirsty bag of trouble on Konoha, was to sneak out.

Easy as pie.

Not that Gaara particularly liked pie. He just happened to understand that the expression applied to how incredibly effortless it was to sneak over the outer wall and into Konoha forest without detection. Even with Naruto clawing at his sand-hardened hands in an attempt to unclasp his gritty palm from his mouth.

When he finally did release his hold on the boy's face, Gaara found he had latched onto the indent between this thumb and forefinger with sharpened teeth.

Gaara grunted softly as he shook his hand out of the blonde's grasp. His sand armor protected him from puncture of his skin, but Naruto's jaws were surprisingly strong and the pressure of his fangs on the pressure point in his hand was painful.

Naruto growled at him, and crouched on the ground. His red eyes flashed over the forest scenery as he quickly lost interest in the stoic redhead— for he didn't favor the taste of sand.

Gaara waited.

And then he had to run to keep up as Naruto rocketed off into the undergrowth ahead of him. This would have been a much easier task if Naruto were still himself, then he would have been crashing loudly through every obstacle and leaving a very obvious trail. But with Kyuubi orchestrating his movements Naruto was not only much, much faster, but far quieter, and more subtle.

Gaara was indeed a top-notch shinobi, but he was neither an expert tracker or extraordinarily fast. Though he would willingly admit this, Gaara was still surprised when he burst into a clearing and didn't know which way to turn next.

He had never lost Naruto in the desert, but apparently Gaara's lack of experience with more covered terrain was showing, for he had just let loose a half-insane, half-demon ninja with an appetite, and subsequently lost him about four miles from a large town full of civilians. Whoopsie.

It was barely a minute before he picked up the trail again. The blood-curdling scream of anguish helped a little.

Gaara frowned as he ran. With Kyuubi so close to the surface, Naruto was unusually efficient and silent with his kills for a normally hopelessly loud shinobi. So, unless the scream came from Naruto, Kyuubi was much closer to the surface than was safe. Gaara dreaded the latter, especially since that scream had come from a decidedly feminine voice box.

Naruto had found an ANBU squad, if the broken porcelain mask was anything to go by.

It looked like he had plowed through the first three in a matter of seconds, taking out the rearguard and then moving up through the formation.

It was the pained moans of the half-dead that alerted Gaara to Naruto's whereabouts. He left behind a trail of ravenous sand to dispose of the corpses of the ANBU. It wouldn't do to have those discovered.

He grimaced when he found Naruto barely ten yards from the first ANBU. Gaara, of course, had seen many atrocities in his life, many of them committed by Gaara himself. However, he did not look forward to tomorrow when he would have to take care of the boy as he puked up his victim's small intestines.

"Naruto," Gaara sighed, relieved that at the very least he hadn't doubled back towards Konoha. The ANBU squad, by averting the boy's hunger, had quite possibly saved several civilian lives.

The boy barely spared him a glance, his eyes slitted and still bleeding red at the edges. At least the Kyuubi had receded somewhat; Naruto's episodes tended to be thankfully short.

Gaara stepped forward slowly, his sand already returning to him from cleaning up their trail and flowing around his feet. "Naruto," he repeated.

He blinked as a slab of bloody, purple flesh was thrust under his nose.

"Eat," Naruto said. Whether it was a request or an order in that gravelly voice was indiscernible.

Gaara stared at the offered flesh and recognized it as a liver. Naruto knew he liked liver. When it was cooked.

Gaara had to bed backwards to avoid a facefull of organ as Naruto suddenly jerked his hand forward.

"Eat," he repeated.

Gaara took the liver. Arguing with Naruto in this state was a bad idea, even for him.

The redhead stared at the warm, slimey organ in his hand. It was incredibly fresh. He glanced at Naruto, who had returned to slicing choice bits of meat form the pulsing body of his meal and eating said bits with a self-indulgent smirk.

Pulsing. It— she— was still alive.

Gaara grimaced. He wasn't as sadistic as he used to be.

He stepped forward, sharpening the sand of the hand not holding the liver into claws. He knelt carefully opposite Naruto, wary of any sudden movements from him. Sometimes Kyuubi could be rather selfish when it came to its kills.

When Naruto appeared to ignore him he reached down, and with a few flicks of his newly formed claws he had cut out the exposed heart.

Naruto's bi-colored eyes flickered to Gaara's hand as blood flooded the cavity he had formed in the girl's ribcage. His lips twisted into a grotesque cross between a smirk and a grimace as Gaara lifted the organ and offered it to him in a manner similar to how he had offered the liver.

If Gaara hadn't had a lifetime of experience with a crazed, bloodthirsty demon in his own mind, he might have found if difficult to meet Naruto's eyes. Gaara found his gaze locked within mesmerizing red and blue as Naruto leant forward, and ate the heart in its entirety right out of his hand.

If Gaara hadn't had that same look on his own face before, he might have shuddered as Naruto grinned at him, eyes full of malice and the evil of a thousand, thousand years, and licked his lips of blood.

"You haven't been eating." the voice of Kyuubi said. He imagined he could hear the smaller voice of Naruto saying the same words in tandem with the deeper one of inhuman harmonics.

And suddenly the hand with the liver was in front of him, his wrist grasped painfully tight in a clawed hand slick with redness.

Naruto kept their gazes locked as he bent forward again to bite into the fatty flesh. And then he leant farther until he pressed his lips against Gaara's own, forcing them open with his tongue. A hand at the base of his skull kept Gaara from retreating, so he was forced to endure the tang of hot iron in his mouth, then the bitter slide of uncooked flesh over his tongue.

He swallowed.

Naruto pulled away, Kyuubi's smirk in his eyes and grin. "Good boy."

Gaara resisted the urge to wince as Shukaku started up an incessant pounding in his head at the first taste of blood. _More, more!_ he urged.

Naruto's mouth on his own again. Another bite, swallow.

He had one free hand and an entire lake of sand if he wanted it. He could have pushed himself away, maybe even have escaped if he was lucky. But he refused to leave Naruto alone, and resisting the Kyuubi's whims would only bring them both more grief.

The entire liver was eaten in this manner, and Naruto licked the leftovers from his palm. Gaara could already feel a stomach ache coming on, and he knew he would be puking it all back up later. Shukaku's metabolism or not, that much fat in one sitting simply did not agree with him.

Naruto leant forward again, this time to lick away the blood that ha dribbled down Gaara chin.

It took all of Gaara's willpower not to jerk away when he felt teeth bite into his bottom lip where the armor was thin. Naruto licked the blood there away, too.

Shukaku screamed in the back of his mind. The demon didn't take well to injury.

Naruto smirked, his eyes half-closed in a vulpine expression of dominance.

Gaara sometimes wondered if he could hear Shukaku.

Their glances had yet to falter, so Gaara could see the gradual change as blue was flooded with red again.

"Such a good boy," commented the Kyuubi.

A single claw brushed his cheek, and Gaara was forced to bend his head back as it continued downward to trace is jugular.

He couldn't suppress the whimper as fanged teeth descended sharply into the junction between his neck and shoulder.

Naruto spat, flicking his tongue in and out to rid if of the grit. "Stupid sand..." The hand still at the base of Gaara's neck sent a shockwave of Kyuubi's chakra down his spine and throughout his entire body. Gaara spasmed as his sand armor convulsed and flaked away.

Naruto grinned. "Well, that takes care of that."

Gaara panted, his entire chakra system singing with pain. Shukaku was temporarily quieted with the sudden chakra burnout, though he was probably cursing his vessel somewhere for allowing such a thing to happen.

"Gaara..." he was caught in those red amber, animalistic eyes again. "... isn't it?"

Over the throb of every muscle and vein in his body, Gaara became aware of claws dragging thread of ice down his spine. He arched backwards instinctively. Next to the fire in the rest of his body, the clean incisions being raked down his back were a welcome distraction.

"I think..." the Kyuubi's voice in his ear, "you don't have a name." The bite right below his ear in the sensitive area behind his jaw almost didn't hurt. Something warm and wet licked his blood away. "You are mine. And no name but my own shall adorn you."

Gaara trembled against the brush of air over his sensitized skin as his shirt fell away, torn to shreds by rapacious claws.

The rest of his clothes didn't last much longer.

Naruto chuckled, raking claws down a newly exposed thigh. "I will give you no pleasures, child," the Kyuubi mocked. "But you want this don't you? You could run..." this tone was slightly softer.

Gaara allowed himself to look up to find a hint of blue again shined through in the boy's eyes.

"If you ran I would not follow you. Why don't you run?" Lies. The Kyuubi would never allow that, and even so, Gaara doubted he could make it three steps without collapsing into a quivering, exhausted heap. But this was Naruto talking.

Even overshadowed by the Kyuubi, Naruto didn't want to hurt Gaara.

His muscles still didn't seem to want to listen to his brain, as they continued to spasm randomly, sending a new jolt of pain through Gaara each time they did. But with some effort Gaara managed to push himself forward into Naruto's arms, the cuts on his front stinging as he pressed himself against the other's body.

In doing so, Gaara could feel Naruto's own need press against his abdomen. This was why Gaara stayed; not the reason he did not run, but the reason he stayed.

The _bijuu_ were incorporeal creatures, and as such they were sexless. They knew the thrill of violence and gore but felt no lust other than that for blood. There wasn't even anything to define the difference between a male and female _bijuu_, if there was in fact a difference at all.

The Kyuubi felt no sexual desire for Gaara. It would prefer ripping him to shreds rather than fucking him, if his vessel only allowed it. But at least with some things Naruto stood strong. And Naruto _wanted_ him.

The Kyuubi drew his blood with wandering claws and bit into his flesh hard enough to make him scream. But Naruto was the one who kissed him tenderly, and supported him in his arms to stop him from falling as his muscles shuddered under his skin. And it was Naruto's hand that brushed over his manhood to rub it to life.

For this Gaara stayed. For Naruto, Gaara would stay no matter the consequences as long as Naruto wanted him... and needed him.

So, as Naruto gently pressed him into the grass, Gaara willed himself to ignore and forget about the pain of his wrist being twisted in a purposefully painful position behind his back. And as Naruto gripped his penis in a soothing rhythm Gaara imagined he couldn't feel the pain of sharp claws being dragged along his inner thigh.

Even as Gaara couldn't hold back his cry as he was entered hard enough to rip and tear his unprepared opening, he could only relish the way Naruto sighed in his ear and moaned with hot puffs of breath on his cartilage at the way Gaara gasped. Naruto could ignore the pain, too, as long as he didn't see the agony that rippled across Gaara's face he could interpret the screams and groans as expressions of pleasure. For surely, with the almost desperate grasp Gaara had on his shoulders his lover wanted him, loved him, needed him.

And Kyuubi urged him on, a crazed impatience that bubbled with urgency. The smell of Gaara's blood, and Gaara's sweat, and _Gaara_ was in his nostrils and Kyuubi wanted _more_ and _faster_ of this enticing thing that made its vessel tremble with need.

And Naruto moved, retreating and ramming forward with enough force that Gaara slid backwards along the earth with each thrust.

And Gaara gasped and winced and screamed at each new jolt as liquid fire lined his anus with increasing intensity and it felt as if he was being stabbed so deeply that surely, _surely_ something was broken inside him.

But all that was okay. Because Naruto was above him and Naruto's lips were on his ear, his neck, and though he couldn't hear the words he could feel them in Naruto's hands in his hair and the pattern of his breath on his skin.

Naruto loved him.

Naruto loved him and that was all he needed.

* * *

**A/N: Ah! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get that last part out, for a while I was stumped on how to write Gaara being practically raped by Kyuubi-Naruto. Now we see why I put the M rating on this fic. Well... that was really fun, difficulty aside. But just because this rape/sex scene was all blood and pain, doesn't mean the later ones will be like that. (wink, wink)**


	5. Morning After

**A/N: Ah! I'm sorry for the wait. Finals start next week! Ah! So busy!**

**Behind the Sun **

**Chapter 5: Morning After**

* * *

He woke up carefully, letting his consciousness resurface slowly. For the most part, Gaara found, the pain was gone and only a bone-weary ache seemed to envelope his body. But Gaara knew that if he tried to use any chakra the agony would return ten-fold. 

Having one's chakra system blasted with demonic energy, unlike the Hyuuga technique which was a centralized jab that blocked a single point, resulted in a full-system burnout which would effect in excruciating pain, loss of muscle control, and an inability to form or mold the flow of the ninja's life energy. For any non-Jinchuuriki its effects would be permanent and crippling, but at least in this instance, Shukaku's presence came in handy.

It would be a couple of days before Gaara could comfortably use chakra, but at least he wouldn't have to retire from being a shinobi.

"Gaara..." a voice said in his ear.

He opened his eyes.

"Gaara..." Naruto said again.

Gaara tilted his head back into the hand stroking his hair. He noted that he had a slight crick in his neck.

"I love you..."

The Suna-nin allowed his facial muscles to pull his lips into a small smile. "As do I you."

Naruto grinned.

Gaara wasn't quite sure why, but sometimes after a major episode when the Kyuubi had nearly reached the surface, Naruto's mind would temporarily clear. Not completely, but enough so that Naruto was almost what he used to be.

"Are you in pain?"

Gaara shook his head carefully.

Naruto bit his lip. "Just don't try to move around too much, okay? I'll get you anything you need'ttebayo."

"How—" his voice cracked in his dry throat. "How long?"

Naruto was already reaching for the glass on the bedside table. "I'm not sure. I came to about four hours ago, and you were out cold by then. Drink this."

Gaara complied as Naruto tipped his head back for him and held the glass to his lips. His neck was sore, but he refrained from mentioning it.

He coughed when Naruto pulled the glass away. "Did you clean up the mess?"

The blonde looked meek. "...Mess? Um, was there supposed to be one?"

"An ANBU squad," Gaara filled him in. "I took care of the three you weren't interested in."

Naruto frowned. "Ah... I woke up no where near any... mess."

Gaara scowled. The Kyuubi must have moved them after he had lost consciousness. That meant there was still evidence out there.

"By the way," Naruto had a look on his face like he knew he was asking a stupid question. "Are we supposed to be in Konoha?"

He nodded. "We arrived just the other day."

The boy sighed with relief, briefly collapsing on Gaara's shoulder before grinning up at the redhead. "I was afraid I had brought us both all the way from Suna! Wouldn't that be weird'ttebayo?"

"Naruto," the boy cocked his head to the side, sensing the question in Gaara's voice. "Has it been any easier these last few days?"

Naruto squinted as he thought. "I dunno."

"This is the first time in over a month that you've come out completely like this."

"A month?" Horror passed over the boy's features briefly. "It's been that long? Gaara-chan..."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Naruto blinked at his bedroom door.

Beyond, someone pounded on the outside entrance persistently.

"Should I answer that?"

"ANBU don't knock."

Naruto sighed as he gently untangled himself from his prone position on the bed with the redhead. Gaara felt a fleeting disappointment from the loss of warmth, he was never one to like the cold.

He listened as Naruto stepped into the living room and opened the door.

* * *

"Naruto?" 

"Baa-chan! Sakura-chan!" Naruto barely restrained himself from jumping them both. "I haven't seen you for, what? Two years'dattebayo!"

Naruto faltered as both women winced. "Eh... not two years?"

"It's okay, Naruto."

"If you can't remember what happened two days ago, can you even remember yesterday?" wondered Tsunade as she eyed him critically.

Naruto fidgeted. He remembered yesterday, alright. But the yesterday he remembered he had been of eating ice cream with the Sand siblings on a sultry day in Suna. Naruto had learned months ago that his memories were untrustworthy. And according to Gaara, that most recent memory happened to be a month old. "Ah... so, do you need something?"

"Well," Tsunade brushed past him with Sakura on her heels. "It's time for your check-up."

Naruto closed the door. "Check-up?"

"You seem more lucid that usual, Naruto. Is this common or should I assume today to be an anomaly?"

"You aren't talking in third person." Sakura added.

"Um..." Naruto was feeling rather left out of the loop. "An anomaly?"

Tsunade hmmed. "Where is Kazekage-sama?"

"Gaara? Ah, he's not feeling well."

"Do you need me?"

Sakura jumped.

"Ah! Gaara-chan, I told you not to get out of bed!" Naruto ran over to the redhead, but Gaara waved him off as he felt the wall he was leaning against was sufficient support.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?" She looked the Kazekage up and down, taking in the various abrasions and lacerations on his person. He seemed smaller in Naruto's clothes, which were too large on him and sagged on his bony form. Her eyes paused on the puncture wounds visible on the shoulder exposed by a loose collar. Those were bite marks.

She had to hold her tongue to keep herself from pointing out that he looked like he had tried to do something naughty with a nasty animal.

"Training accident." Gaara replied.

Tsunade was skeptical. When she glanced at Naruto she saw he was fidgeting nervously. Guiltily.

"Well," she decided to continue. "I was going to do just a cursory exam on Naruto, but you yourself look like you could use some medical treatment."

"I'm fine." he replied coolly.

Tsunade grinned and pointed out, "You can barely stand up straight."

"I can take care of him."

Everyone stared at Naruto, the med-nin among them wondered on how the boys' roles had been switched.

"And I've been taken care of." Gaara completed, his tone saying that he would argue the topic no further.

"Well then," Tsunade glanced between the two of them. "In light of Naruto's progress today, I've decided to get an fMRI, which would entail—"

"We know what an fMRI is," interrupted Gaara. "And it is unnecessary. Naruto was quite thoroughly tested in Suna."

Tsunade smiled. It was a scary smile. "Another one wouldn't hurt."

"Um," Sakura started, shifting uncomfortably. "I'll go and get the equipment..."

"No, Sakura, I'll go to the hospital. You just make sure these two get there."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Sakura shrunk. She was not looking forward to being left alone with Naruto and Gaara. Especially Gaara.

"So..." Naruto scratched his head after the Hokage had left as briskly as she had appeared. "How ya been, Sakura-chan?"

The kunoichi smiled softly. "Okay, I guess. You at least recognize me today, Naruto."

The boy scratched one whiskered cheek. "Eh... sorry, if I..."

"It's okay," she glanced at the redhead leaning heavily against the wall beside the bedroom door. Now that the Hokage had left, the obviously pained insomniac slumped against the wall and appeared to shrink into himself. "Um, Tsunade went to get all the complicated equipment ready and to clear a room and... we should go now."

Sakura watched as Naruto gently took the weight of the Kazekage and started to lead him across the room.

"Not the right," Gaara hissed.

Obligingly, Naruto swung around to support Gaara's left instead.

Sakura opened and closed the door for them, then opted to take the lead.

"So..." Sakura started uncertainly.

Naruto smiled at her, and Sakura suddenly felt so much more relaxed. The blonde boy who had cowered behind Gaara the day before was not that boy today. This was _Naruto_, she realized as she recognized the awareness in his eyes that only sane people held, and that comforted her.

"You seem so much better than before. Is it better... to be in Konoha?"

Naruto shrugged and immediately apologized to Gaara as the movement lifted his arm awkwardly and sent a sharp pain through his left shoulder.

Gaara just hissed in annoyance.

Sakura eyed the Kazekage's limp. "Um... so what exactly happened to... cause your injuries?" By the nature of Gaara's nindou it was uncommon for anyone to get close enough to inflict injury.

Gaara scowled, his eyes set on the ground in front of his feet. "Training accident."

Okay, though Sakura was infinitely curious she knew when not to press a subject. Especially when said subject involved the questionable operations of an ex-psycho.

"He's a little touchy when he's injured." said a smiling Naruto, more for the conversation than an explanation of Gaara's coldness.

Sakura nodded once in reply.

"So... Sakura-chan, how has your training with Baa-chan gone?"

"Great!" the kunoichi smiled at the opportunity to turn to a safe subject. "I'm much stronger than I used to be. Do you think you can keep up, Naruto?"

The blonde grinned at her, his competitive drive flashing in his eyes. "I know I can'ttebayo!"

"Oh, hello, Ino!"

Naruto blinked as Sakura turned away abruptly to greet the blonde.

"Hey, Sakura."

The two girls, once rivals, had grown back together again with the absence of the Uchiha, that which had pushed them apart. While what had been lost would likely never be fully regained, at least they could be friendly with each other again.

"Are you on your way to the hospital?"

"Yeah," Ino gestured to the flowers she carried. "These are for my sensei. He got hurt really bad on border patrol yesterday."

"Oh! I heard about that. Something about an entire ANBU squad being wiped out."

Naruto shifted as Gaara tensed at the turn in conversation.

"Is he alright?"

Ino shrugged. "I heard Asuma-sensei'll be okay, but his partner is still in critical condition."

Sakura winced in sympathy. "Well, we're going to the hospital, too. We'll walk with you."

Ino blinked as her eyes sprung to the two boys a few steps behind her friend. "Oh? I recognize you... Naruto?"

The blonde waved with his free hand. "Hullo!"

Ino simply nodded in response. The two blondes had never been close.

"We better get going, Tsunade-sama is waiting for us."

* * *

"How many bloody tests do they _need_!" Naruto griped. 

"We're done now, you can go home." said Sakura.

"Did the tests say anything new?" Gaara queried.

"We won't know until our experts get a good look at them."

"It's a giraffe, I say, a giraffe! And they disagree with me!"

"Naruto, it was a horse. Anyone with brains could see that."

"WELL, I still say it was a giraffe! It had spots!"

"When will we hear about the results?"

"Ah..." Sakura had to think about that for a moment. "I think Tsunade-sama wants to bring in some specialists, so... you probably won't hear anything definitive for a week or two."

Gaara hmmed.

"Hey! Shikamaru! Chouji! I haven't seen you since forever!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as the blonde bounded up to them.

"But, Naruto," Chouji said, "You saw us yesterday."

"Eh... eheh heh heh..." laughed Naruto as he scratched the back of his neck. "Really? Hey! So what are you guys here for, anyway?"

"Our sensei—"

"Oh yeah! I heard about that from Ino! So, is Sumo-sensei gonna be alright?"

"Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru continued, deciding to ignore Naruto's faulty memory for names. "is stable. But we don't know if he's ever going to wake up."

"Aww... that's too bad. So is he like, in a coma or something?"

"Something like that."

"Ah, Naruto—" Chouji started.

"Ah! I forgot Gaara-chan!" the boy exclaimed suddenly before turning and running back down the hall.

"I'm fine." Gaara growled as Naruto scooped him up.

The blonde, not prone to patience, had taken to quickening the pace by simply picking the slim redhead up. Despite the frequency and strength Gaara pounded his head and shoulders when he lifted him, the boy had yet to drop him.

"Put me down, I can walk on my own now."

"But you're so _slooow_." Naruto umphed as Gaara jabbed two fingers intoa sensitive spot right above his collarbone. "And see? I'm putting you down right now— ow!"

Once his feet had touched the ground, Gaara had turned right around and kicked the blonde in the shin with an elegance and pride only the Kazekage could muster.

"Arrg... for a guy with a smashed wrist, three bruised ribs, and a cracked pelvis you certainly hit hard'ttebayo!"

Gaara hmphed and took the two steps to the wall so he could lean against it. His gait was far steadier than it had been in the morning. With the passage of time his chakra coils gradually revitalized themselves and the trickle of Shukaku's energy turned into a stream, increasing his healing abilities relatively.

"H-hello, Naruto-kun," a small voice said. "G-gaara-kun..."

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto didn't hesitate to scoop the small girl into a brief hug. "When did you get here?"

The Hyuuga blushed crimson as she was released. "I... I— etou..."

"Uzumaki," Shino greeted in his unassuming monotone.

"Eh?" Naruto studied the cloaked nin for a minute. "Oh! You're... you're... do I know you?"

"Shino," Chouji supplied.

"Shino!" Naruto exclaimed instantly, as if he had just remembered without outside help.

The bug-nin only nodded in reply.

"I... um..." Hinata continued to stammer, mashing her two forefingers together. If Naruto's attention hadn't been so quickly diverted to her teammate she probably would have fainted by now.

"So what are you guys here for?"

"Kurenai-sensei is dying."

The less attentive characters of the group jumped at the new voice, which chilled them all with the simmering anger it hinted at in its iciness. Everyone turned to the last member of team ten, whom had been leaning unobtrusively and silently against the wall until that moment. That was unusual for one such as Inuzuka Kiba.

"K-kiba-kun..."

"They say she won't last two days, no matter what they do." Kiba set his cold glare into Naruto's eyes before flashing a fiery one on the redhead leaning against the wall behind him. "Because _someone_ ripped her throat out with his teeth."

"P-please don't—"

"And I know who did it!"

The shinobi flinched minutely at the violent rage in his voice.

"Kiba," Shikamaru sounded bored as usual. "There is no evidence as of yet on who did it. It could very well have been a foreign nin."

"Well, who's the only foreigner here?" Kiba roared back.

For a moment, silence greeted this accusation as the shinobi digested the implications of Kiba's suspicion.

Gaara closed his eyes briefly, but Kiba plowed on before the Kazekage could properly reply.

"And look! He's covered in evidence! I bet Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei and those ANBU put up quite a fight!"

"Gaara didn't do anything!" Naruto fired back, tension gathering in his tightening fists.

"Why would Kazekage-sama want to kill an ANBU squad and two jounin?" Shino was the voice of reason for once.

"Those ANBU were coming back from a mission! They probably had some important information that that monster didn't want to get to Konoha!"

In a split second, Kiba was suspended in the air with Naruto's trembling hand gripping his collar. "Say that again," the blonde warned in a growl.

Three steps behind, Gaara braced himself to get in between the two should fighting break out.

"I was with Gaara last night." Naruto continued. "I was the one who hurt him. In a sparring match. He's innocent."

Kiba snarled in turn. "You're just an idiot; you don't know anything."

Naruto sneered. "No, _you're_ the idiot. You're accusing the Kazekage of murder without any real evidence!"

"No!" Kiba pushed himself away. "You don't understand! He's deceiving you, and he's deceiving all of us!" The dog-nin pointed a viciously clawed finger at Gaara. "That murderer killed Akamaru!"

"K-kiba-kun!"

The Inuzuka choked, scrabbling at the life-strealing that was suddenly around his throat.

"Gaara is no monster." Naruto rumbled into the boy's face as he held him against the green hospital wall. "And he is no murderer."

"Naruto," Gaara watched anxiously as red flashed in the boy's eyes for a split second.

"And if you say that again, I'll kill you!"

"Besides," Shikamaru piped up. "it would make even _less_ sense for the Kazekage to target a dog."

"Th—that's b-because he's a—" Kiba gasped. "killer!"

It took three shinobi to finally get the raging Jinchuuriki off the dog-nin.

Kiba screamed as claws— claws that hadn't been there seconds before, he was sure— plunged without warning into the soft tissue of his solar plexis and tore upwards and outwards. A guttural roar in his ear sent a flash of terror straight through Kiba's heart as he fell to the linoleum. In his panic-struck mind, he was sure that such a sound could not come from a human throat.

"Naruto! Stop it, you're hurting him!" Chouji extended his arms to aid the struggling Shikamaru and Shino in pulling the blonde away from the frighteningly inactive Inuzuka.

Naruto was breathing hard and he continued to swipe mindlessly at whatever part of Kiba he could reach. "Get off me! You bastard—" he screamed as he swung his rage onto the shinobi attempting to hold him back.

Shino and Shikamaru leapt backwards to avoid the slashing claws and Chouji's arms were knocked away.

Hinata trembled as she saw the hatred in Naruto's face. This was not the Naruto she knew. "S-stop... please... Naruto-kun..." But her near-silent pleas were drowned in the growing noise level of the hospital corridor.

"What is going on here?" Tsunade was there, Sakura and a team of med-nin on her heels.

The newcomers' eyes were drawn from the torn and trembling form of Kiba to the blood dripping from Naruto's hands.

"What on _earth_ is going on here?" Tsunade repeated.

Naruto growled deep in his throat.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "This is a hospital—" she stopped as red-stained appendages with viscious-looking claws were suddenly hovering inches from her face. Tsunade's heart was pounding; she hadn't even seen him move.

Naruto was straining to reach her, snarling animalistically, and his red eyes told her of all the things he intended to do when he did.

"Naruto,"

Tsunade looked down and she realized that the Kazekage was the only one standing between her and the murderous Jinchuuriki. His shoulders shook with the effort of putting all his weight against the forward pressure of Naruto's advance.

"Naruto," the redhead repeated into the boy's collarbone.

Nobody could detect any inflection of the Kazekage's voice that displayed any expressed emotion, but something must have been there as Naruto visibly relaxed when Gaara repeated his name again.

Tsunade watched in fascination as red slowly faded to blue again.

"Naruto," Gaara said again, expecting to be clawed or thrown aside at any moment. It was dangerous to try to restrain the Jinchuuriki once the Kyuubi started getting involved. But it would be even more dangerous to let him go demon in a hospital in the middle of a town full of shinobi that would not hesitate to destroy any threats they perceived.

Even so, Gaara was surprised when he felt Naruto respond to him, the pain in his shoulders and back of using too-sore muscles dissipating as the boy relieved his weight from him.

"Sorry," Naruto said quietly, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Tsunade stared at the two of them for a moment. She got the impression that Naruto's apology was not for any of the people in the vicinity except the redhead.

Seeing that Naruto appeared sufficiently calm, the Hokage snapped her fingers and gestured to Kiba's still form. The med-nin moved forward instantly.

"I'll be expecting you in my office." Tsunade told Naruto, staring hard at him. "Gaara, you as well."

Naruto didn't respond. He was busy glaring at the floor as his breath still came in rapid gasps.

She thought she saw Gaara nod.

The med-nin carried Kiba down the corridor quickly, and the Hokage followed behind. The Inuzuka's treatment came first, but Tsunade worried just what was going on with her once harmless little blonde.

Sakura hesitated, watching the two Jinchuuriki warily as the rest of the young shinobi were doing.

Naruto continued to relax slowly until his breathing returned to normal. "Sorry... Gaara," he said again. He lifted his hands as if he intended to hold the redhead still leaning against his chest before he realized they were covered in blood. Naruto sighed softly.

The surrounding shinobi watched with varying degrees of horror and disgust as the blonde lifted his fingers to his lips and started to lick them clean.

"Th-there's a bathroom down the hall." Sakura said after a moment.

Naruto's eyes skimmed over the kunoichi, and that was the only evidence that he had heardher. When he had cleansed one had to his satisfaction he brought it down to press into the small of the Kazekage's back. "You okay, Gaara-chan?"

"... I think I pulled something." the redhead mumbled.

Naruto chuckled. "I told you, silly, you gotta take it easy."

No one cared to point out that if Gaara hadn't moved to stop him he would have assaulted the Hokage.

"Hey, I'm hungry," Naruto said as he chased the last droplets of blood with his tongue. "Wanna get something to eat?"

Gaara made a non-committal noise.

"Okay!"

No one felt the urge to say goodbye as the two ambled down the hall, though Naruto waved heartily at them.

There was silence in the hall again as the Jinchuuriki turned the corner and Naruto's one-sided chatter was blocked from hearing.

"Well..." Shikamaru mumbled. "That was troublesome."

Chouji pulled out a bag of chips and started eating rapidly. He had forgone food for that entire ordeal and he needed to recover his nerves.

"Did Naruto really... what happened with Kiba?" Sakura inquired. She had not witnessed the events that had led up to the fight, and she was curious as to what could have caused Naruto to turn to such violence.

"N-naruto-kun..."

"Kiba accused Gaara of killing Akamaru and the ANBU that were attacked yesterday."

"Akamaru?" Sakura blinked at Shino. "Oh... his dog died in that bear attack the other day, right?"

She received several nods in reply.

"Now that I think about it... I guess it's possible that the attacks could be related." Sakura bit her lip as she thought. "I've seen the victims of both attacks. Same MO. With lots of claw marks and bit wounds."

Shikamaru frowned.

"But..." Sakura chuckled at the absurd prospect. "It's unlikely. The second attack was obviously done by a ninja. And what ninja would target a dog inside Konoha then go and kill a whole ANBU team and then take out a passing border patrol? There's no motive to kill the dog."

And if anything, a real ninja did not kill without motive.

"What if Akamaru attacked the ninja?" Chouji slowed his eating to talk.

"A ninja with enough skill to kill a whole ANBU squad and two jounin would have enough skill to escape a nin-dog." Shikamaru hmphed. "But... it is an odd coincidence."

"Two attacks with similar MO's occurring within a day of each other." Shino continued the genius's thought. "I'm inclined to think something is going on, at the very least."

"Tch," Shikamaru grumbled. "Troublesome."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered. She remembered the look in her crush's eyes, and she worried where her old Naruto had gone.

And more so, she worried what had taken his place.


	6. Rising Tensions

**A/N: **I'm sorry it's been so long! I didn't like the first draft of this chapter, so I had to rewrite it. For some reason, rewriting takes a million times longer than writing it for the first time. Then, I went on vacation for a couple weeks into the boonies with no internet.

But it was worth the wait! Every one is going to love this chapter, I bet! I worked really hard on the rewrite.

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter Six: Rising Tensions**

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yes," Gaara ground out for the umpteenth time. "And _no_, I don't need to lie down." This was actually true, as his chakra coils were now nearing acceptable levels of repair and he had recovered most of his mobility.

"But, Gaara…"

"It looks worse than it is."

Naruto bit his lip as he studied the purple and yellow bruise coloring Gaara's ribs. It was twice the size of his head. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

The blonde poked it experimentally. "See? You flinched!"

"Your hands are cold." Gaara retorted.

"Gaa-chan… I _really_ don't want to—"

"Fine!" the redhead spun around so Naruto was looking at his back. "If you don't want to be with me that much—"

"That's not it!"

"Well, obviously it's _all_ about you. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto! What about Gaara?"

"Gaara, I—"

"Why don't you please me for once!" the Kazekage turned again so he could glare at the floundering blonde.

"I'm sorry," and there was a true apology in his eyes.

"Then stop being sorry and have sex with me!"

Naruto stared imploringly at him for a minute. Then he started chuckling.

Gaara growled. "What is it now?"

"It's not often that you get like this, Gaara-chan. You're so cute when you get mad!"

The Kazekage snarled in reply. If anyone but Naruto had dared to call him 'cute' he would have ripped them to shreds instantly. "Naruto," he warned.

"Gaara-chyan!" Naruto grinned back.

"If you don't stop teasing me…"

"Okay!" Naruto laughed and pulled the fuming redhead down into his lap. He smacked a wet kiss on the edge of the boy's mouth.

Gaara continued to growl irritably.

"I'm sorreeeeeee—," the blonde whined as he nuzzled his captive's collar bone and pulled him tighter against his chest.

"Then have sex with me."

"_No_," Naruto sighed. "Too dangerous."

Gaara wiggled a hand between them to push himself away. "But I want—"

"I know what you want, Gaara! And I know it's been a while, and I understand—"

"I can be seme. We'll take it slow."

Naruto shook his head, a pained expression in his eyes. "Yeah, but even so, your hips are still killing you, aren't they? I saw you limping."

Gaara scowled. "They're good enough."

"And that's not even the point I'm trying to make. I don't want to hurt you, but I also don't want to risk loosing control."

Gaara paused. Yes, that was definitely something he didn't want to happen. "You're having more difficulty controlling it." There was once a time when Naruto didn't even have to think about it, and Gaara didn't have to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing that would set him off. Gaara longed for that time.

Naruto looked ashamed. "I dunno… but I guess Kyuubi's been getting more and more persistent."

"And losing yourself to carnal pleasures…"

"… could mean losing myself to Kyuubi." Naruto finished. "I think."

Gaara slumped in disappointment. If they had been in anyone else's company he would not have bothered to express this emotion.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto said again. It had been a month since they last had been together like this. Naruto understood how much Gaara wanted them to appreciate the time they had to the fullest before Naruto's mind slipped back into the fog of red chakra. Naruto wanted it, too. He wanted it so bad that it was an ache in his chest behind his solar plexus; and seeing Gaara in pain didn't do much to help Naruto's already slipping resolve. "But, um… as long as we're careful I could… _help_ you a little."

Gaara's lips twitched into his characteristic almost-smile as Naruto waggled his eyebrows at him. But even as the offer sent a new spark of excitement straight to his groin to renew the passion that had been lost with the interruption of their recent make-out session, Gaara felt disappointed. Kyuubi seemed to be taking more and more of his beloved blonde, and now he couldn't even have him all in pleasure.

He contemplated for a moment just pushing Naruto to have sex with him anyway, even if that meant awakening the Kyuubi and waking up the next morning sorer than he was today. But Gaara wasn't that much of a masochist.

He fisted his fingers in the orange shirt separating Gaara from ten and toned muscle; he suddenly felt severely angry with it for not yet being removed. "Take it off."

The blonde raised his eyebrows at the growled order, but complied without complaint.

Gaara was skimming his fingers over the solid abs before Naruto had even gotten the shirt over his head.

"Hey!" warned Naruto as he grabbed one wandering hand as it moved to tease a tempting nipple. "I was serious, y'know. No fooling around."

Gaara resisted the urge to pout and squirmed on his lap, half-intentionally pulling a soft gasp from the blonde.

The next thing he knew he was lying on his back across the couch and Naruto was tugging his pants to his ankles. He was always surprised at how quickly and easily Naruto could change their positions without any effort on Gaara's part. The redhead wondered if it was just the boy's unnatural strength or his own lightweight frame that made that possible.

"Damn it, Gaara," he growled as he ran his hands up his thighs, and then around his milk-white hips.

Gaara wiggled impatiently. If he couldn't touch Naruto, then at least Naruto should touch him; but he wasn't touching him where he _wanted_ it.

But what came was so much better than his hands.

Gaara gave a strangled grunt as a moist, warm tongue ran up his shaft before lapping at the sensitive slit at the top.

"N-nnnn!" Gaara said as the head of his penis was taken into that hot cavern, and he panted as the rest followed. "N-naruto!

The blonde smirked around his length and sucked harder as he bobbed back up again. He swirled his tongue around the bulbous head before slipping down again so far that Gaara knew his penis had entered the more restrictive area of his throat. This was repeated until Gaara was squirming and straining against the hands pressing down on his hips.

Gaara mewled as his erection was released from the blonde's mouth. How could he just leave him like that?!

"What was that, Gaara? I don't think I caught that."

The redhead growled through the haze that had all too easily enveloped his mind. He knew what the blonde wanted to hear, but he was too far gone to be able to resist simply for the sake of his pride. "I want you to suck me off."

"What? I'm sorry, I can't quite hear you."

"I want you," Gaara ground out, closing his eyes from the hot flush on his face that wasn't just arousal, "to suck me off."

"Say my _name_, Gaara."

He snapped his eyes open at the sudden proximity of the voice. Naruto was leaning over him, staring down with an intimidating, almost-predatory look. Gaara froze when he recognized the streaks of red reaching for the pupils of his blue eyes.

"_Say it_." He repeated. "Tell me how you want me to make you scream. To make you plead. To make you cry."

"Naruto," Gaara complied. The boy had always had a penchant for dirty talk. He had always claimed that it was because he liked to hear the Kazekage's normally pristine mouth spout sensual nonsense and the way his name rolled off his tongue. Gaara believed secretly that he just liked to have his ego stroked.

The blonde grinned at him; Gaara watched his fangs nervously.

A click and a snap.

Gaara risked glancing down, and found that Naruto had already discarded his belt.

"Undress me," he commanded from above.

"Naruto," Gaara pleaded softly. It was too soon, he doubted he could handle another eternity of teetering on the torturous edge between pain and pleasure, despite his recent pushiness.

However, he didn't dare hesitate to reach down and unzip the fly of Naruto's casual jeans.

Naruto wiggled out of those and soon they were both exposed in all their glory on the ratty old couch in Naruto's depressingly clean apartment.

Naruto gave him a brief, gentle kiss as reassurance as he reached down between Gaara's legs.

The redhead braced himself as a thankfully dull-nailed finger circled his hole.

"Hmm," Naruto frowned and mused, "You're all swollen."

He gasped as Naruto suddenly changed his position again, so Gaara's own erection was brushing against the curve of the blonde's ass.

"Tell me how much you want it, Gaara-chan." Naruto grinned foxily and shifted _just so_ against Gaara's inflamed appendage.

With their recent argument, Gaara had forgone attending to his arousal for quite a while now, and it was almost painful. "N-naruto!"

"If you're good, if you're _real_ good… I might just let you fuck me."

Gaara groaned and closed his eyes from those blue-red eyes. It had been a long time since they had been together properly, but even longer since Gaara had topped Naruto.

He didn't hesitate when the blonde ordered, "Touch me," and he was a the very least glad that he could finally touch Naruto in this way after so long.

Gaara watched his face as he squeezed.

Not to disappoint, Naruto closed his eyes and opened his mouth in a silent moan. Gaara remembered longingly how much time had passed since he had seen this expression on his lover's face.

"Gaara," he sighed softly, so gently that Gaara wondered if Kyuubi was influencing him at all. "Do you love me?"

Naruto gasped in his ear as Gaara's thumb rubbed over his tip.

"Yes, Naruto."

"I love you, too."

Naruto's lips on his own were warm and gentle. Gaara relished the feeling while he could. Though they might spend every minute together, Gaara couldn't help but feel they were far apart whenever the Kyuubi clouded his blonde's mind. It hurt to see Naruto lose himself, but his kisses always helped Gaara forget that pain.

Naruto shifted his weight again, and that was all the warning he had, because then he was struggling to breathe correctly and he was scrabbling for a handhold, _anything_, because he was _inside_, and it was hot and tight and his muscles were convulsing around him and—

If Gaara had been of a sounder state of mind he would have tried to stop the somewhat whorish moan of disappointment that left his mouth. It took him a moment to gather to words he needed into a question. "Why… why'd you stop?"

Naruto was frowning as he glanced around his living room. "'Been too long. Need lube."

Gaara just barely contained the growl that would have said something along the lines of, "Fuck that. Sit back down _now_." It wasn't as if _he_ had gotten such a luxury, after all.

But then he was on the alert as Naruto started grinning a grin that was most definitely not kind or gentle. Gaara's eyes drifted to the place his mixed-colored gaze was affixed. The door.

"Nevermind… looks like we have company."

* * *

When Kakashi knocked on the door of his old student, the last thing he wanted was to be greeted by the red slitted eyes of the Kyuubi.

The last thing he expected was for him to be completely naked.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto seemed unperturbed by the breeze as he grinned slyly at his teacher.

"Naruto…" the jounin discreetly reached back to his pack where his kunai were kept. "Is Kazekage-sama inside?"

The boy chuckled. "Yeah, but I doubt he'll want to come to the door at the moment."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow under his hitae-ate. He hadn't missed the obvious arousal, and he only managed to contain his amusement at the thought of what he had interrupted because of the warning bells that were going off in his head at the sight of Naruto's red eyes. "May I… come in, then?"

The boy's eyes flashed danger. "Why? What do you want?"

For a moment, Kakashi considered bypassing Naruto and confronting the Kazekage directly, for if Kyuubi was influencing the boy then there was definitely something _not good_ going on. "I need to see the Kazekage."

"I'm right here."

Kakashi glanced beyond the nude blonde to see the Kazekage was in a similar state, excepting the appreciated addition of a hastily-donned pair of trousers.

"What is it you need?" Unlike Naruto's nonchalance, Gaara was obviously uncomfortable, as Kakashi deciphered from the set of his shoulders. However, whether that was due to the pants he was wearing or any modesty he possessed, Kakashi didn't care to think on.

The jounin reached to one of his vest pockets as the Kazekage stepped around Naruto. Kakashi wondered if he was intentionally blocking the boy's important bits from view, for he had never seemed one for consideration. Or maybe he was just possessive. "Do you recognize this by any chance?"

Gaara eyed the tattered piece of cloth the jounin held out. He portrayed no reaction.

Naruto leaned over the redhead's shoulder. "Ooh! What is it?"

"It was found at the scene of yesterday's attack on our ANBU. It appears to be the remnants of clothing. It didn't match any of the victims'."

"In other words, it came from either the killer or someone who fled the scene."

Kakashi's eye squinted in what appeared to be amusement. But that was just appearances. "And what makes you think there's more than one possible suspect?"

"I don't." Gaara seemed completely unruffled even though the questions were obviously meant to pressure him.

"I see." Kakashi returned the cloth to his pocket. "Well, it's not an unlikely assumption. We did find at least two pairs of footprints that are unaccounted for."

Gaara frowned. In the desert, the shifting sands tended to cover evidence like that in a matter of hours. Even entire bodies could disappear by the next day if the winds allowed it. "What brings you here then?"

Kakashi studied the stoic Kage and the blonde behind him. Naruto was frowning and glaring at some obscure point in space above his sensei's shoulder. "Well, we found some blood samples on the cloth…" At last, he got a reaction out of the redhead, but the flash of emotion disappeared too quickly for Kakashi to properly identify it. "And they appear to point to you, Kazekage-sama."

He had an entourage of ANBU stationed at a safe distance around the perimeter, should any trouble start.

But the Kazekage was a shrewd one. "How did you get a hold of my DNA?"

"Chuunin exams," Kakashi replied smoothly.

"I'm implied to think it was planted." Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"There was quite a bit of it all over the scene. Whoever planted it would have had to have gotten a hold of an entire outfit of yours, skin and hair samples, and a substantial amount of very, very fresh blood." Other than a narrowing of the eyes, Kakashi observed no change in the Kazekage's expression.

Though they were faded now, Kakashi had been informed that Gaara had been sighted earlier with the injuries that had not been there the day before. The story fit. "May I ask where you were and what you were doing during the time of the attack yesterday?"

There was a pause as Gaara appeared to consider his answer.

But Naruto answered for him. "Training. With me."

Kakashi met the cold stare of Naruto's, now an eerie mix of red and blue. "Are you saying you were the one who inflicted the injuries I see now?" Kakashi pointedly glanced over the faint marks of bruising and the red lines of healed-over lacerations visible on the Kazekage's exposed upper half. The jounin made a note to giggle about the brighter love bites speckling Gaara's neck and collar bone later. It was the kind of news that would pull a highly entertaining reaction from Iruka.

"Yes," his student replied.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. If he was telling the truth, Jiraiya must have trained him very, very well.

The jounin considered the possible reactions to what he was about to say for a moment; Naruto's hostile gaze was giving him the heebie jeebies. He said it anyway.

"Then maybe you should also know that we also discovered semen on the scene." He paused to let the information register. "Your semen, Naruto."

Gaara was as emotionless as ever, despite his growling glare, but Naruto's face visibly darkened.

Kakashi swallowed imperceptively as Naruto's eyes filled entirely with red again. "The Hokage wishes to see you immediately."

"Gaara didn't do anything." He growled.

"I'm not accusing Kazekage-sama of anything. Tsunade would like to see you in her office. Both of you."

"We're not going any—" the boy stopped as Gaara snapped up a stern hand.

"Put some clothes on, Naruto."

The blonde pouted. "But, Gaaraah, we were just—"

"Clothes. Now." Gaara growled back.

"We're not finished—"

"Naruto!" If anything, Gaara felt like he was the one who should be whining and throwing a tantrum. He was cold, angry, and sexually frustrated. And his damned pants were too tight. "Just get dressed. And grab my shirt for me."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Naruto skulked back inside. Perhaps the hint of Kyuubi in his eyes didn't make him as dangerous as he thought he would be to deal with.

He was caught completely by surprise when tenuous fingers of sand shot around him from behind and closed around his throat with blinding speed. "Shit!"

Kakashi watched the Kazekage's emotionless face as his hands were caught and sand crawled up his legs. He couldn't reach his pouch. He couldn't breathe to call out to his reinforcements.

The jounin let his chakra spike. That would be enough to alert the ANBU.

Gaara's eyes narrowed and he held his hand palm out.

Kakashi started to sweat, recognizing the classic pose.

His fist snapped closed.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh dear! Now everyone is going to be sending me crazy reviews threatening me not to kill Kakashi.  



	7. Cooked Liver

**A/N:** I would say I'm sorry for taking so long for this update, but-- NO! I'm still mad at this chapter for being such a bitch. I won't apologize. (sticks tongue out at Word document)

However, I managed to save it by changing just about EVERYTHING in editing. Which is part of why it took so long. Though I hated it before, I'd have to say I'm rather pleased with how this one cleaned up.

Amusingly, I got a surprisingly high percentage of people cheering for Kakashi-death. That isn't to say that I didn't get my fair share of threats.

Thank you, all you (dirty!!) people out there for your faithful reviewership! I'm using (K) subliminal (I) messaging (L) to turn you (L) all (S) into (P)sycho-cann(I)bal-serial killers. ...(DERS)

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 7: Cooked Liver**

* * *

"Sorry, Gaara-chan, it took a while to find your shirt 'cuz it was under— whoa!" 

Gaara glanced over his shoulder. Himself deceptively clean, the redhead stood in the middle of a bloody mess of battered flesh and crushed bones. He snatched the proffered cloth from Naruto's limp hands.

As predicted, his chakra coils were already protesting their usage. Gaara hoped they didn't shut down completely at some inopportune moment.

"Eh heh heh..." the blonde scratched behind his ear as he admired the near-artistic splatter of crimson entrails on the surrounding walls. He was so going to get evicted for this. "I was wondering why Kyuubi was going crazy all of a sudden. Are you sure it's a good idea to... ?"

"They were ANBU." Gaara clarified as he straightened his shirt and started tucking it into the waistband of his pants. "It seems we've attracted suspicion."

"But, Gaara, did you have to kill everyone? You just got us into even more trouble, now."

"The evidence against us was too great." Besides, Gaara had to vent his frustrations on something, didn't he?

Naruto gaped at him for a minute as he digested the implications of their situation. "Then... what now?"

The Kazekage glanced at the boy over his shoulder as he started on his way down the hall, stepping over the maze of disembodied limbs. "We leave Konoha."

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" 

Tsunade sprang awake as the frantic chuunin burst into her office.

"We have an emergency!"

The busty blonde yawned and blinked slowly. "What is it?"

"We've lost contact with ANBU squad eleven!"

She blinked again. "What?"

The chuunin hopped from foot to foot in frustration. "The teams we sent with Hatake to bring in Uzumaki and Kazekage-sama!"

Suddenly, she was very much awake. "WHAT? What happened?"

"We aren't sure yet! The ANBU aren't responding and some scouts reported two figures leaving the scene who fit the description of—"

"WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Send out an alert!"

"Hai! Hokage-sama!"

* * *

"Hey, Gaara..." 

They made a sharp turn into another back alley, their feet pattering silently on the cobblestones.

"What?"

Naruto paused for a minute to consider whether he actually wanted to hear the answer. "Where'd Kakashi go?"

"He left."

Naruto didn't believe him.

"Shit!" Naruto nearly ran the redhead right over; he stopped so suddenly.

"They're closing the gates."

Naruto looked up, and hissed when he saw this was true. "So? We can go over the wall."

"No," Gaara growled. "If they're closing the gates, that means the city has been put on high alert. Everyone will be looking out for us now."

Naruto failed to see the significance of this. A wall couldn't look out for anyone, and it was no problem to scale one.

"If everyone has their eyes open, it will be much more difficult to sneak out. Even if we do get over the wall, we'll be spotted and pursued."

"Yeah, but we could shake 'em. Or kill 'em."

Gaara shook his head. He decided not to mention his current chakra situation; that would only make Naruto even more adamant about getting out of Konoha as quickly as possible. Damn blonde thought he could do everything. "If we run, we'll tire or be caught with so many pursuers that know the surrounding country better than us. If we fight, reinforcements will be nearly infinite as long as we're this close to Konoha."

Naruto growled. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"I suggest we find a place to hide."

Naruto didn't like that.

"You know this place better than I do." Gaara tried to goad him into action.

Naruto growled at him, his eyes incarnadined. "There's no way I'm hiding from those bastards anymore. Not in my own home."

Before Gaara could determine whether Naruto was speaking from memories of years' past, he was leaping to the side, instinctually avoiding the kunai that assailed the spot on which they had previously stood.

"You there! Halt!"

Naruto rumbled lowly and crouched low, his claws extending.

Gaara marveled at how quickly and easily the change had come over him.

The two gate guards dropped down into the alleyway. "You are two wanted shinobi! You're under arrest!"

They were only chuunin.

Shukaku was more than willing to bring up the sand to block Gaara from the thick splattering of shredded flesh that ensued, though the veins of energy in his body ached. At least one of them was happy with today's turnout, Gaara mused, as he sensed the bijuu's mental delight as the sand devoured the fresh kills.

Naruto was pouting, obscenely, with an only half-sane glint in his eye. "That was so _boring_."

Gaara winced as he picked up on the signature of the incoming shinobi in their immediate vicinity.

"I think I heard something over here!"

Naruto perked up, and licked his lips in anticipation.

Today, Gaara knew, was going to be another _one of those days_. Not to mention the end to that Suna-Konoha peace agreement he had worked on for an unnumbered many months.

Gaara followed close behind as Naruto bounded off into the shadows, indulging his red-chakra-ed self in a Machiavellian cackle.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" 

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples as another frantic chuunin ran into her office.

"What's happened now?" she growled irritably.

She had always found the silent and robotic ANBU to be rather dull characters. However, there was something to be said about being eerily efficient. At least if one didn't have a face, one tended _not_ to shout their superior's ears off in times of crisis.

"It's the Kyuubi and the Ichibi!"

This the Hokage had known for the last hour. And it seemed that every chuunin under her command felt the need to tell her this every five minutes.

"And?" she raised an eyebrow. If he said, "That's all," she would not be responsible for any property or persons that would be damaged consequentially. She had enough to worry about as it is.

But she was disappointed.

"And the D district appears to be on fire! Sir!"

"WHAT?" That was a civilian residential district.

"Has it been evacuated? How far has the fire spread?"

"Only partially, Hokage-sama," the chuunin twitched under her red-hot glare. "There's been quite a lot of confusion since the demons entered the area, so we are as of yet unsure whether—"

Tsunade's palm sounded an ominous boom as it slapped the desk. It was echoed distantly from across the city where, if she were to look out the window, the rooftops were illuminated by the red-orange glow of a demonic blaze. "Are there still civilians in there or not?"

The chuunin gulped. "Ah, at least four hundred. Maybe more."

A shard of ice dropped into Tsunade's stomach.

She had already lost contact with two more ANBU squads and several of the various chuunin and jounin who had been stationed in that area, and she feared the worst. Naruto was obviously much more powerful than he used to be, whether that was Kyuubi's power or not was left to be decided. Plus, Gaara wasn't exactly an easy target either. Taking out the two of them would take a lot of man power, as did managing the full-scale evacuation of the city. She couldn't spare any more men.

Tsunade sank into her chair. She felt sick that she had to choose between civilian lives and a boy she loved dearly who could very well be out of his mind. This was why she knew she would never make a proper Hokage. "Send out the word that squads thirteen and fourteen are to be redirected to the D district to evacuate any more civilians. Ignore the fire for now. Focus all efforts on capturing Gaara and Naruto. Alive, mind you."

"Hai! Hokage-sama!" The chuunin disappeared with a poof and a larger figure instantly poofed into existence where the previous ninja had recently stood.

"Where have YOU been?" Tsunade yelled.

The jounin rolled one shoulder nonchalantly, his natural slouch giving implying an air of detachedness. "Permission to take chuunins Haruno, Nara, Rock Lee, and Umino Iruka into sector D to pursue the Jinchuuriki."

Tsunade frowned, and wondered if she should risk it. "Umino is guiding the evacuation procedures in C district."

"I'm sure he can be spared."

The Hokage's frown deepened. "And Rock Lee is already in the field pursuing Gaara and Naruto with his team."

An eye crinkled. "Then that should be fine."

Tsunade scowled and thought on it for a moment. "Very well," she said at last. "Bring them all back alive."

The jounin disappeared with a mock-chivalric tilt of his head.

Tsunade prayed silently that her order could be and would be followed to a T.

* * *

Blood dripped from him like rainwater after a shower. His clothes were now more red than orange. His face looked like he had gotten too close to Pollock as he was painting with crimson. 

And all through this his grinning mouth gleamed with the feral glare of predator's teeth.

There was a bit of flesh stuck between a canine and an incisor.

And Gaara had the gruesome urge to lick him. Until he was clean.

The strange thing was he wasn't sure whether that was Shukaku's idea or his own, though the bijuu wasn't exactly against it either way. Gaara wasn't sure whether the urge itself or the fact that he couldn't discern its origin perturbed him more.

Naruto's lips left his cheek sticky and probably smudged with red as he smacked a wet and noisy kiss there. "Gaara-chyan," he purred. "Are you hungry?" he held up the purple-brown lump of the liver he had cut from one of the bodies he had left strewn across the street.

Gaara's stomach upset uncomfortably just looking at it.

"Cook it first." he dared to command.

"You got it!" and the boy scampered off, leaving the organ in the dust at the redhead's feet.

Normally, Gaara would not have risked the backlash of even the smallest denial of the Kyuubi. However, even though his eyes glowed red, Naruto appeared to be in control of his personality. So for once, Gaara sensed no threat to himself around the boy bubbling with Kyuubi's malicious power.

However, that wasn't to say Naruto had complete control over his actions. Gaara grimaced as he stepped over the still form of a child, beloved doll still in hand.

The blast of heat that struck his face as Gaara turned the corner signaled the execution of Naruto's favorite fire jutsu. An old tenement building blazed to the roar and crackle of aged wood aflame.

The screams of what sounded like several families' worth of people hiding in the basement flared up and gradually fizzled out as the building burned above temperatures compatible with human life.

"Charbroiled!" Naruto giggled as he appeared before the redhead with a steaming lump turned black-brown by the heat.

Gaara winced. He hadn't exactly meant for Naruto to burn a house down just for a bit of hot organ. It wasn't even well-done.

The tenement's neighbor caught fire as the old building collapsed.

He took the liver, silently commanding the sand to insulate his hand from the meat's extreme heat. "Thank you, Naruto."

The boy beamed back, despite the red-stained fangs which threatened to turn his expression into a snarl.

He really was just trying to be nice.

Gaara sighed softly. "Naruto..." He felt a sudden surge of... depression. Well, that wasn't exactly new for him, but this was a despair he hadn't felt for at least more than a year now.

Looking up, Gaara saw that Naruto was rapt, watching with bright eyes that reminded him of the glassy gleam of an animal's gaze.

He suddenly feared for his future. For Naruto's future. For _their_ future.

He dropped the liver. It left a smear of a dark oily liquid on his palm that was soon devoured by the sand.

He pressed his face into his lover's chest and fisted his fingers in the tough material of his orange jacket. He felt the need to feel him, to have the physical proof that Naruto was there right in front of him. That he still loved him.

Gaara wasn't sure what he would do if he got pushed away, or, worse, he got no reaction at all. It would not be pretty, of that he was sure.

He wondered how much longer he could bear not having the Naruto he once knew. If this trend continued, Gaara feared that Naruto would drag him down into the psychedelic abyss of insanity with him. The pain in his heart from his absence of mind was in a way just as bad as the loneliness he had known years before.

Gaara pushed deeper into the blonde's breast as he felt those arms encircle him. No matter how bloodstained they were he would always welcome Naruto into his embrace. "I miss you," he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Besides, in his current state Naruto would likely miscomprehend. He probably didn't even realize he wasn't in full control, Gaara thought morbidly.

Naruto held him tighter, stroking his hair and rubbing his back. Perhaps he sensed Gaara's need after all.

Gaara was reminded, suddenly, morosely, of happier times.

Naruto's Shukaku imitations, that would send the demon into a fit of undignified rage in his head, while Gaara would be laughing. It was the tanuki's fault for imparting such salacious information such as his penchant for karaoke to his host. Unfortunately, that had resulted in Shukaku's retribution, which consisted of singing his favorite nonsense songs off key in the loudest voice he could manage in Gaara's head.

He blushed at the memory of Naruto in the sweltering Suna summer, chuckling lecherously as he paraded around the redhead's quarters in only his boxers. Or even the nude. Despite the blonde's complaints of the heat, Gaara still believed that he did it just to fluster him.

Naruto always used to steal a bite of his ice cream when he thought Gaara wasn't looking. Even though he knew Gaara was letting him anyway, he probably enjoyed playing sneaky.

Their first kiss, awkward, but earnest... well, to be truthful he had gotten a little violent at the time. Their first time...

Gaara had to close his eyes against the emotional onslaught. He had to force himself to depart from memory lane. For that way only sorrow and regret waited to greet him.

The worst part was that Naruto was so close, yet just beyond his reach. There was nothing worse than losing something so precious so slowly. For you were inevitably dragged with the fallen, to a place of no following. In the end, you were left with a painful reminder of your loss, of what once was. But the hope would never leave you— that maybe, just maybe, if you loved a little more, it'd all come back to you— but in the end that hope tore you apart.

Gaara was sure that such a loss would break him more completely than Yashamaru's or anyone's betrayal ever could. It was not anyone's fault that he was forced through these ordeals. Fate had screwed him from the beginning.

He felt a hand caress his cheek, and he leaned into the feeling. It was a little sticky, perhaps, but it was a loving gesture all the same.

At first, Naruto seemed not to respond, and a sliver of ice shot into Gaara's gut. But then Naruto's grip on his waist tightened and Gaara felt the pressure returned. And with it a sort of reassuring warmth— no matter how false it might have been— flooded Gaara's body.

Part of Gaara wanted to deepen the kiss, to grind hard against him to ignite his passion. He wanted to lift a leg to wrap around his hip, as he knew Naruto would react with a pleasurable aggression to that. However, another part of Gaara feared that in the process he would lose whatever small fraction of Naruto he currently possessed.

Gaara contented himself with the joining of soft, chaste lips, and tried his best to ignore the taste of blood and gore that made it past his closed mouth and on to his tongue.

* * *

**A/N:** I'd just like to say, that Gaara seems like an exceedingly formal person. So yes, he tucks in his shirts. 

You know I had to rewrite that kiss scene more times than the rape scene from chapter four? So you BETTER like it!


	8. Infirmity

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 8: Infirmity**

* * *

"What a BEAUTIFUL display of YOUTHFUL PASSION!" 

Startled, Gaara pulled away at the sound of the loud voice that boomed through the street that suddenly seemed much narrower.

Naruto's arms tightened around his waist, so Gaara didn't have the room to turn around, but he recognized most of the shinobi with an askance look over his shoulder.

"Though we must apologize for our QUEST requires us to intervene!"

Gaara twitched. Were the green head cases crying?

"So BEAUTIFUL!"

One of the many snide and random voices in Gaara's head screeched, "MANHUG!" Gaara winced. He wished Shukaku didn't feel that he had to keep up an intermittent and slightly irrelevant commentary on the 'soap opera of his life.' At least, that was how he put it.

Gaara secretly believed that Shukaku was a closet romantic.

Gaara snapped back to the present. Right. Crazy-Naruto had just been massacring random civilians. The other side of the street was completely consumed by flames now. Shinobi had just arrived to kill them— probably. It would be a very bad idea to start one of his endless and pointless mental rambles now. Must focus.

Gaara wondered if he should blame Shukaku and his own various psychosises for his spaciness, or the fact that Naruto had just kissed him and was still holding him.

Gaara had to stop himself from following that train of thought. Focus. Of course.

Shukaku was laughing at him from somewhere within his subconscious.

Looking over his shoulder, Gaara saw that the shinobi had gotten into offensive marital stances. He also noticed that there were four of them now. The two in green tended to eclipse the others.

Despite this scene of aggression, Gaara didn't feel the need to get on the alert, though his shinobi instincts told him he should. The grip Naruto had on him made him feel safe... and maybe a little sleepy. But he was always sleepy.

That was perhaps on of the few— "MANY!" Shukaku chuckled derisively— perks of being smaller than his mate. Whenever Naruto hugged him he could feel blissfully engulfed in the warm strength of his embrace— "YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE BIG AND TALL..." — and he could always relax with Naruto like no other, because Gaara knew his blonde would use all his power to protect him. — "... AND MUSCULAR..." — Gaara wondered suddenly if he would feel safer around Temari and Kankuro if they were more powerful. — "...AND HELL, HE'S GOT NINE OF 'EM..." —Considering at this point Gaara would likely lose to Naruto if they ever got into an all-out battle, if Temari and Kankuro were on the same power level (which they were no where near, since they couldn't even beat Gaara together, he though)— "... POWERFUL..." —would Gaara feel as comfortable with them as with Naruto? There was also the difference of intimate interactions in lovers' and siblings' relationships to consider.— "BABIES!" —Obviously, Gaara would never get into bed with one of his siblings; he shuddered at the thought. He decided he'd have to ask Naruto when he was more sane how close sibling relationships were supposed to get. "LOTS OF BABIES!"

Gaara paused.

...What?

"BABIES." Gaara could feel the half-crazed grin of his resident demon.

Gaara thought about it. He realized he had no idea what the tanuki was talking about.

"BABIES." The demon clarified unhelpfully. "LOTS OF THEM."

Gaara didn't understand.

"I'M GONNA BE A MOMMY!"

The redhead had a brief flashback to the years when Shukaku had convinced him he was the spirit of his deceased mother, willing him to fulfill her dying wish. At the time, it was the only purpose he could hold onto. Though his mother may have hated and cursed him, at least she had given him a reason to keep living: Kill everyone. It had been a perfectly good life purpose until— "BRAT!"

"What?" he snapped irritably. It may have been out loud. Oh well, no one would look at him oddly if they already thought he was crazy.

"PAY ATTENTION!"

Right. Babies.

"NO!" The demon lapsed into a string of unintelligible but harsh-sounding curses in the hostile demonic tongue. It was an ancient tongue. It was lyrical. It sounded mostly like the sound a dog makes when it's hucking up grass. "IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PAY ATTENTION THEN AT LEAST LET ME TAKE OVER!"

Gaara's mind came up with many surprised responses when his world was suddenly turned on its edge. Since he could not decide which one to use in less than a tenth of a second, he didn't express any of them. But he did start paying attention.

The rather deafening roar of rage in his ear kind of helped with the whole snap-back to reality thing.

Gaara blinked slowly as he took in the scene around him. It wasn't much different from before. Those lazy Konoha-nin were still standing around, looking somewhat disapproving. He noticed the particularly condescending scowl of one of them.

Gaara instantly decided he didn't like the Hyuuga.

"Naruto! Please! You must listen to us!"

Sifting through the memory of sensations Gaara had been ignoring for the past minute or so, he discovered why he had been so rudely shaken.

The smaller green-clad one, with some sort of misconception about 'calming the beast,' had attempted to approach them. Thusly, he had earned a slash to the face with Naruto's claws as the boy retreated.

The redhead was somewhat disappointed when he saw there was no blood on the hyper-nin's face.

Gaara sighed inaudibly as a clawed hand tightened in his side.

Damn Konoha-nins. He was comfortable!

He only met a little resistance as Gaara slid his arms from around Naruto's neck and stepped away, but he got the impression that if he tried to get more than an arm's length away thy blonde would pull him back. Gaara was half-tempted to take another step just for the sake of getting pulled back into those arms again.

Though he would never admit it out loud, Gaara got a sort of perverted pleasure from his lover's possessive streak. —"WHAT ABOUT YOU ISN'T PERVERTED?" —

Damn. These Konoha-nin wouldn't stop talking. What happened to the ambush-and-capture maneuvers a _proper_ ninja would use? If there was one thing Konoha-nin in general were good at, it was dragging on moral speeches before, after, and even during battles.

"Mine!" Naruto cried suddenly, appearing in front of Gaara abruptly.

Gaara decided it was time to pay attention again.

He quickly saw that the squad had split up. Lee— he remembered his name now, funny how his memory worked like that— and the Hyuuga were already circling around behind him. The older green ninja and the girl with the buns had their eyes intent on Naruto.

Well, finally, they were getting to the interesting part. —"WOO! POUND THOSE SONS'A'BITCHES!"—

Naruto howled angrily; he was trying to keep his eyes on the enemies both before and behind them. Gaara knew it was futile, he couldn't handle all of them at once, for as soon as he turned to attack one pair, the other would attack from behind, hitting either Naruto or himself. Gaara felt warm inside at the idea that Naruto was likely worrying more about the latter. Crazy or not, the boy didn't like letting strangers touch his mate, especially with hostile intent.

However, reveling in Naruto's slightly over-protective from of love would have to be left for another day.

Gaara turned on his heel and crouched slightly, testing his weight on his ankles. At least physically, his body appeared to be back in working order.

He smirked, more for intimidation purposes than to express that he thought he was superior to his opponents. Even though he did.

He felt the change in Naruto's demeanor behind him; the boy had understood his gesture and was getting into a more battle-ready stance himself.

He almost snarled when the Hyuuga only smirked back.

Lee was currently spouting something about YOUTH and PLEDGES, but Gaara was ignoring him.

That Hyuuga was going down first.

The first wave did not catch the Hyuuga by surprise, but Gaara had seen him fight before, so he had been expecting this. Neither did the second wave achieve a hit. However, Gaara's intent was soon revealed, as hidden in the third wave was his trap.

The redhead grinned crazily as the Hyuuga tripped ungracefully onto his ass. Just as he had expected, the tunic-clad ninja had been relying upon his _byakugan_ to track Gaara's attacks. What the Hyuuga hadn't realized was that not all of Gaara's attacks consisted of blatant waves of sand that were full of mounds of chakra. His control was such that he could manipulate the sand down to the smallest grain, and since the amount of chakra needed to move an object decreased relatively with mass and vice versa, it would take someone with great observational skills to notice just a few of the smallest pinpricks of chakra; maybe just a handful attaching themselves to the Hyuuga's clothing as he dodged each attack...

And as predicted, the Hyuuga hadn't been looking out for such subtlety. The white-eyed nin twisted as he fell, but the kaiten was compromised as Gaara already had his sand grasping an ankle.

Gaara waved his hand, commanding the sand to engulf his prissy prey. His sand barrier was already coming up to block—

Gaara wasn't the only one who was surprised when Lee's fist connected with his face.

For a moment he stilled, stunned by the sudden change in his perception as his head snapped back at the angle of the punch.

Had Lee gotten faster? No, Gaara suddenly realized that his sand barrier had not even budged.

He felt the cause of this malfunction more than knew it, as a throb of pain rippled from deep in his abdomen outwards across his body.

That was all he had time to realize before Lee's foot connected.

He felt the pain distantly, as he collided with the ground a second later. Gaara twisted against the earth; his muscles were refusing his commands.

What was wrong? What was going on? Shukaku was panicking, but Gaara perceived his voice only vaguely through the onslaught of undulating torture.

He shouldn't be experiencing such a violent backlash at this point. Of course, he had known his coils weren't completely healed, but after twenty-four hours—

Kakashi.

If Gaara's throat hadn't locked up like the rest of his body, he would have growled.

Of course. He should have known. The chakra usage from that battle with the ANBU, though he had been careful, had set back his healing process. Set it back quite severely by the looks of it.

"Gaara!"

He tried calming himself, breathing slowly and deeply. But it only worried him more as his breath hitched every few moments and his heart pounded erratically against his ribcage. If those failed he could have a serious problem.

"Konoha senpuu!"

"RrrrrraaaaAAAAAAHHHH!"

It was trying to do two things at once that had done it, Gaara decided. Forcing too much chakra through his damaged coils had been the last straw. So now, all Gaara could do was wait and agonize as his body spasmed, signals jumbling and tangling along his broken synapses.

"Naruto! Stop!"

"Kagemane no jutsu!"

"The clones! Behind you—"

"Gaara-chan..." He wondered if that was his imagination, supplying him with the soothing voice of his love whispering in his ear.

"Naruto! It's me! Please, just calm—"

Something wet and hot splattered his face, and someone— something— cackled with delight from above him.

His body still shaking with the aftershock, Gaara managed to open his eyes. The world was a blur of color and light, as his vision refused to focus.

A shadow fell over him. "Naruto...?" The call came out more like a sickly croak than anything coherent.

"Shh... it's okay... just take deep breaths..."

Gaara froze. _Not_ Naruto.

"I think you're having a seizure, so just stay calm..."

"AAARGH! Don't touch him!"

"Hold him down!"

"Now, I'm going to give you a sedative to relax your muscles... you might feel a little pinch..."

Gaara had always been skeptical of drugs, to say that his previous experiences involving a therapist and various psycho-depressants had been traumatic, for both himself and those around him, would be an understatement. However, though he hated the fact that he was now incapable of movement, he couldn't say he didn't welcome the nearly painless tranquility the haze of drugs brought.

"Gaara? Gaara?! What are you doing to him?"

Naruto. He sound panicked, but Gaara didn't have the strength to call out to calm him.

"He'll be fine, Naruto, stop struggling or you'll only hurt yourself more."

Kakashi's voice. Stupid convenient Kawarimi technique.

"Argh! No!"

"Somebody hold him before he rips his own limbs off!"

"RRAAAH! Get away from me!"

There was a brief tumult and a pause that followed.

"Do you think that'll hold him?"

"We can..." Gaara's hearing was becoming steadily fuzzier, like a radio station whose frequency was gradually fading into static. "... at least..."

Without even realizing it, Gaara fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Don't worry, it will all start to make sense later. And no, this will not become an m-preg story. XD I didn't even realize I had made it sound like that until I started typing it up. That's just Shukaku being a crazy bastard. 

Wouldn't you be slightly insane if you had a crazy tanuki demon in your head with a penchant for likening your life to crappy tv shows? No wonder Gaara can't keep his thoughts straight.

I hope my reviewers like this chapter, because I'm not crazy about it. However, I love the next chapter. Yes, it is almost done. Yay for the debut of Temari and Kankurou!

Btw, does anyone understand the multiple meanings of the chapter title? Since the chapter itself is so confusing, I was hoping that the title could perhaps give the perspective with which this piece could be viewed. Eh, who am I kidding... all y'all think I'm crazy anyway.


	9. Redress

**A/N:** Kawarimi no justsu- the replacement or substitution technique. I'm sorry, I'll try to remember to supply translations for the more uncommon japanese phrases. It just sounds so much more interesting than saying Substitution technique, doesn't it?

Btw, **Piole** has informed me of a rather amusing typo from the previous chapter. I typed, "Looking over his shoulder, Gaara saw that the shinobi had gotten into offensive marital stances." XD Marital stances... Ah, Gai and Lee, we know you wanna.

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 9: Redress **

* * *

At first, Gaara thought his vision was still blurry, until he realized everything was_ supposed_ to be white. 

The list of things Gaara hated was a very long one indeed. Hospitals were in the top five, and that included the nurses and doctors that came with them.

"Oh? Are you awake?"

The pink thing was fiddling with the various machines he seemed to be connected to. "Sorry about the bindings, it was in case... you know... Shukaku came out or something."

Gaara couldn't comprehend until he looked down.

That was Hated Thing #7: being tied down. With chakra infused bindings covered in holding seals, no less.

However, strangely enough, he couldn't find the energy to care.

"It looks like you had a bit of a chakra overload." The nurse prattled on, "That can happen when you force too much chakra through the inner coils—"

"Am I drugged?" he slurred abruptly.

She blinked, surprised, but recovered quickly with a chagrinned smile. "Yes... we did give you a light sedative. You'll notice that your chakra is being suppressed, as well as your metabolic functions and so, you might feel a little dazed or slow. That's actually the effect of a special drug Tsunade-sama prescribed for you. You see, what happens when you have a chakra overload is that either due to injury or poor control you try to push too much chakra through strained or underdeveloped vessels and they essentially break or burst, diverting the flow of that chakra into unwanted places, namely your internal organs."

Gaara was busy wiggling his toes, marveling at how far away they seemed across the white expanse of the hospital bed.

"This is very similar to what happens when a blood vessel breaks. However," Sakura was in full lecture mode now, proud to display her medical knowledge to the defenseless kage. "The body has a very finite amount of blood and it's the losing of that blood that is more worrisome. But while the body can only make blood so fast, it can create chakra much faster. If you aren't careful," Sakura scolded, "you could continue to push too much chakra through the broken vessels and into your internal organs where, with no where else to go, it will gradually accumulate. While chakra in normal amounts is hardly harmful to your own body, as it just passes through your cells, in large amounts it will cause those cells to burst. As such, you could have killed yourself, Kazekage-sama!" She glared matron-like, her arms akimbo. "You let the chakra build up inside your body until it started to destroy your internal organs. I would expect better from the Kazekage!"

Something was slowly occurring to Gaara, but the sluggish flow of his thoughts was slow to come.

"Do you understand? You let it go so far that if we hadn't arrived just in time all that rampant chakra could have turned your insides to pulp! Until your coils heal properly, you'll have to stay here and—"

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. (_Was he even listening to me?!_)

The Kazekage, limp and languid, injured and drugged, didn't seem all that dangerous anymore. Especially since his most threatening feature, his icy stare, was thawed by the haze, and he watched her with glazed eyes.

However, something else stopped Sakura from reprimanding him, like should normally would with someone else— namely Naruto (at least the old Naruto, she tried not to let the wistfulness reach her face). Sakura set aside her ire for a more professional bedside manner as Gaara's eyes were gradually widening in what she suspected to be panic, and his bpm and respiration rate started to rise.

"Don't worry, Kazekage-sama, Naruto is fine. Perfectly healthy."

Gaara had realized he was afraid. It would take him several minutes more to figure out what he feared exactly. "Naruto!" he tried to convey to the pink-haired kunoichi. Why wasn't his blonde _here_? _With_ him? There was something terribly wrong with this situation, and Gaara didn't like it!

"It's okay, Gaara-sama," Sakura consoled, trying not to think about the fact that this was Sabaku no Gaara whose head she was stroking soothingly. She prayed he wouldn't remember this when the drugs wore off. "Naruto's fine." She glanced at the monitors as they blipped and whined with increasing frequency. "You need to calm down, Gaara-sama, stress could really detriment your current condition—" She jumped as the door slammed open.

Sakura whirled on the intruders when she realized she didn't recognize the chakra signatures. "Excuse me! This is a private room for intensive care—"

"Gaara!" Sakura was buffeted aside as two very distraught Suna-nin ran to the bedside.

Temari dropped immediately to her knees next to the bed. Kankurou leaned over her; their faces were anxious, pensive. "Gaara? Are you okay?"

The redhead stared at them uncomprehendingly. "Naruto?"

Kankurou snarled suddenly. "It's _that brat's_ fault that—"

"Kankurou!" Temari silenced him. She reached out to smooth Gaara's hair back from his face. "Naruto's fine, Gaara. Just try to relax." She had not failed to notice the frantic peal of the pulse monitor. "It's us, we're here for you."

Kankurou turned on the medic-nin as Gaara continued to stare at them blankly; the puppet-nin's rage shivered under his skin, making taught muscles twitch. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Sakura had to resist the temptation to step away from the obvious outrage radiating from the older brother. She set her lips in a thin line; Sakura didn't take kindly to his tone. (_Who does he think he's talking to? I'm the medic-nin here!_) "There's been some very serious damage done to his chakra coils, we were forced to give him some very heavy suppressant drugs to ensure he didn't hurt himself any further." She tried to sound diplomatic, but Sakura could help the annoyance that underlay the haughty upturn of her chin.

Kankurou growled.

"Temari," Gaara realized at last, after he had reasoned out that the blonde in front of him was, unfortunately, not Naruto. What was his sister doing... here? He instinctually believed that _here_ was not Suna. But Temari was in Suna acting as his stand-in temporarily. Did that mean he was in Suna? "Where am I?"

The other in the black suit leaned over the blonde's shoulder to answer his dazed question. '_Kankurou_,' the more functional part of his mind murmured. "You're in a hospital in Konoha, little bro."

"We came as fast as we could when we heard what happened." Temari continued.

"From Suna..." Gaara finished; his confusion on the matter soon to be forgotten. His brow furrowed. "Where's Naruto?" While the introduction of his brother and sister to the situation had temporarily distracted him, the problem of the missing blonde still hovered in his mind.

Temari seemed to understand, as she quickly made up an acceptable lie to calm the redhead. "I just saw him. He's looking for you, too, but they're keeping him detained for safety reasons." She smiled blindingly, and started rubbing his shoulder.

That pleased Gaara; to hear that Naruto seemed to be in a similar situation to himself, and was worrying about Gaara as much as the redhead worried for his blonde. The drugs clouded his judgment enough to cause him to miss the fact that Temari never smiled like that when she was telling the truth. "I want... to see him."

Sakura shook her head as the older kunoichi glanced at her.

Temari smiled sadly as she answered. "You'll see him soon. Don't worry about it."

Gaara frowned. He didn't like that 'soon' idea. How could these people not understand that as long as Naruto wasn't _here_, there was something wrong?

Temari would have squeezed his hand, but she realized it was bound under the padded leather straps that held her littlest brother to the bed. Her gaze darkened as she turned on the other kunoichi in the room. "Why the hell is he tied down? Isn't that a little unnecessary?"

Sakura's chagrin returned as Kankurou stomped forward to pull off Gaara's blanket to get a look at the bindings himself. "What the hell?!"

"So... what exactly were you guys told happened?"

Both siblings were glaring at her now, expectant. "Naruto had an episode and hurt Gaara."

"That's what Tsunade's letter told us." Kankurou added.

Sakura sighed. She was not looking forward to being the one to break the news. "Wait, episode?" She asked suddenly, running their word through her head again.

"Yes, _episode_," Kankurou mimicked sneeringly.

"Naruto can't control Kyuubi _all_ the time, you know. Especially with whatever is wrong with him right now."

Sakura stared at the older kunoichi with wide-eyed astonishment. "K-kyuubi?"

Both elder Sand siblings froze.

"You... _know_, don't you?" Temari winced.

"Um, well..." Sakura fumbled, struggling to organize her thoughts to grasp the situation properly. "I... I never thought that was— I mean, I_know_, Tsunade-sama... she... but, I never thought... Naruto..." She paused; took a deep breath. "I just... never really put the two together, I guess."

Temari let out the breath she had been holding, relieved that she had not given away the secret she had promised to keep.

"So... Naruto," Sakura continued, as her brain struggled to put the puzzle together. "That was Kyuubi? With the rage and the fire and... all that?"

Temari and Kankurou nodded. It wasn't the most accurate of descriptions, but they recognized the signs of possession, nonetheless.

"...And _he's_ come out before?" Sakura frowned. She had never seen any hint before of Naruto's difficulty in controlling his inner demon. Something refused to line up in her mind, rejecting the idea of Naruto being subject to the will of anything or being greater or more malicious than his own. There was no room in her mind for Naruto, the troubled creature of a bipolar soul. The image of Naruto, the carefree idiot that was thick-headed enough to believe he could persevere on effort alone, took up all the space.

Temari and Kankurou were watching her with grim expressions.

Something awful occurred to Sakura then, but it was more like a feeling than any logical concept her mind could perceive and systematically pull apart. It sent a shiver down her spine and settled over her mind with a tight, icy grip. "When you sent Naruto to Konoha, were you expecting this to happen?" A shimmer of anger bubbled up from her stomach.

"Well," Kankurou scratched his nose, his eyes wandering over the stark hospital walls. "We certainly weren't expecting it to get this bad. Usually Gaara does a good job of knowing when Naruto's got an episode coming on and he manages to lead him away from highly populated areas."

Sakura's eyes darkened. "Well, obviously such a system is not as effective as you thought it was. People are _dead_. He killed innocent women and children! A civilian district is in ashes!"

The two Sand siblings winced.

"What were you thinking? Sending an unstable, murdering beast on us? If you just wanted to get rid of him you could have dumped him somewhere—"

Temari stood up slowly, and Kankurou's back straightened. They glared at her; she could sense the tension in their clenched fists, their trembling shoulders. Sakura felt a spark of fear, for she was outnumbered, and, she was loath to believe, outgunned.

"What did you say?" Kankurou's voice trembled as much as his shoulders, both quaking with rage, ready to bubble over.

Temari's voice was as cold as her eyes, and both pierced Sakura more deeply than Kankurou's fire could burn. "He is not a beast. Not a murderer. He is no monster in any way, shape, or form."

As Temari glared down at her, Sakura saw a diluted version of Gaara's own stare, for the coloring of their eyes was nearly the same, though Temari edged closer to a softer blue hue rather than Gaara's sea foam green. "Naruto has one of the purest hearts I have ever seen, so don't you dare accuse him of ill will. Remember that Gaara and he are of a similar situation, and they both struggle in tandem against a will—an evil— that is not their own. Do not call them monster or demon, do not belittle those efforts they have to make everyday just to be human, simply because you do not understand or care."

"Or I'll kill you." Kankurou added.

"However," Temari continued, grimacing at Sakura as if she did not deserve the explanation she was about to receive. "Naruto, whom we had hitherto believed free of the problems Gaara had with control, has been recently met with serious difficulty. Due to this difficulty, many effects on his body, personality, and mind have resulted, which I'm sure you've observed at least some of."

"Unless you're a complete idiot." Kankurou sneered.

"When his control slips, Kyuubi is permitted at least partial freedom to control Naruto's actions. This is the event we have come to call an 'episode.'" Temari paused, staring hard at the medic-nin and willing her to absorb all the information. "Recently," she sighed softly. "Naruto has been having greater difficulty in keeping his control and the episodes have become more and more frequent." She glanced at Gaara, regret in her eyes. "We sent him to Konoha with hopes that he would, perhaps, with the familiar atmosphere, find it easier to control the demon."

Sakura relaxed just a little, the perilous, icy she-demon was gone, leaving behind a worried woman who simply loved her little brother. But her spine snapped back to ramrod straight as Temari turned on her again.

"And you," her eyes hardened into twin Peridot shards. "I expected more from you. From the way Naruto spoke of you, I got the impression that you were his _friend_." Sakura flinched at the barb Temari's words twisted under her skin. "But your reaction suggests that were never worth his, nor anyone's, praise."

Sakura gulped, shivering before the woman's cold glare. It was easy now to see that the ability to instill fear in one's enemies with simply cold words and gaze did not belong solely to Gaara. It seemed to run in the family.

"Temari?"

Sakura blinked as the ice in the air chilling her skin disappeared suddenly at the small sound. Temari was on her knees again, her hand reaching out to touch Gaara with soothing motions that she so rarely used. Especially with her littlest brother. But that made it all seem so much more important in Gaara's moment of weakness, for it was the only comfort she could provide. "Yes? Do you need something?"

Kankurou's rage had all but disappeared as well, replaced with a soft concern that contrasted sharply with what Sakura had seen moments before. However, that contrast only served to shame her in a way Temari's cold words could never do on their own. In seeing the love in their eyes, only then could Sakura truly realize the depth of their feelings.

Therefore, she didn't stop them when they unclasped the bindings from Gaara's small, weakened body, despite the fact that she would be yelled at for that later. For she knew that arguing with them now would be like coming up against a wall in their hearts, which held only the strongest of bonds. The kind of bond the ghost of which she still wished for with a certain someone in the back compartments of her soul.

Sakura was a romantic, sure and true, and she felt for the Sand siblings in a painful way.

"M'cold..." Gaara mumbled, and Temari pulled the blanket up over him, tucking it in under his chin.

"We're sorry; we shouldn't have left you without the blankets like that. Is that better?"

"Mm..." Free of the bindings, Gaara slowly turned on his side and curled his knees to his chest. "Where's Naruto?"

Temari sighed.

"Not this again," Sakura heard Kankurou grumble under his breath.

Feeling suddenly that she had to make up for something, "Um," Sakura called the attention back to herself. "Maybe... maybe I can go see if I can arrange it so they may see each other?"

The Sand siblings stared at her.

"I mean," she faltered, cursing herself for having lost her usual sureness. "I can't promise anything, but..."

"You do that," Kankurou sighed. Despite his obvious revulsion to the idea, considering it was Naruto who had put Gaara in his current weakened state, he understood the urgency of Gaara's feelings enough to know he would get no peace without the blonde around.

Sakura bowed slightly on her way out, somehow feeling the respect was necessary.

She felt warmed by the slight, nearly imperceptible nod Temari gave her. Sakura felt that acceptance from this kunoichi, no matter how small it was, was something to be proud of.

* * *

**A/N:** I effin' love the Sand siblings. None of them take any crap. I was planning on including the following scene with Naruto in this chapter... but first of all, it's not finished yet, and second of all... Temari spends so much time dishing to Sakura! This is already about my average chapter size, so why not update smaller increments more frequently than one big long increment every once in a while? I figured my readers would appreciate it.

Gaara is such a nutcase. With all the shit he's been through, I wouldn't be half surprised if he had a panic attack every damn time Naruto just happened to be a little late coming home for dinner or something. XD He's also, I bet, something of a heat-lover. I bet he'd hate the snow with a passion. Or any temperatures below seventy degrees, for that matter.

Btw, to anyone who's wondering, I haven't given up on my other stories. This one just happens to take precedence in my mind. I have quite a couple ideas for a Nightly Friend, among other oneshots, and that Kankurou sketch is coming soon. Those are all just probably going to wait until after this story is done.

Anyway, until then, leave me reviews! I seem to have accumulated a very intelligent following for this story. All my reviewers have such interesting insights! So, I'd love to hear them.

... Does that mean only smart people appreciate this whack-job of a story? Or maybe we're all just crazies. You know what they say about genius and insanity.


	10. Neurath's Boat

**A/N:** Ahh! I'm sorry it's been so long! The winter months are always busiest for me. Just wait! Once AP exams are over in April I should have more time on my hands, which means more frequent updates!

**Neurath's Boat:** The philosophical debate based on this metaphor, which Naruto refers to in the chapter, which considers the situation of a boat that is being changed or rebuilt at sea. It is used to allude to many philosophical concepts, such as identity and the means by which personality can change.

Also, thank you, reviewers! I wouldn't have the motivation to continue this story without you.

Also... the farther I get into this plotline, the less I know how to categorize it. So you may notice that I have switched around the genres. Let's just say it here: this is a horror/romance/tragedy/mystery/(somewhat unintentional porn) story! And that doesn't even cover the whole of it. God, I hate categorizing.

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 10: Neurath's Boat**

* * *

Naruto looked up so quickly when he entered, Iruka nearly missed the fact that he had been gnawing on his chains. 

"Hello, Naruto," he attempted to say, but his words were nothing but a breath of soundless air passing from his lips.

"Sensei?" the boy's head tilted and he eyed the Chuunin questioningly.

Iruka wondered what half-thoughts were running through the Jinchuuriki's twisted mind. Iruka knew he looked himself quite the sight, but he wondered if the injuries even registered in the boy's mind or if he even wondered what the bandages were for. Did he remember that it was his own clawed hands that had ripped through Iruka's flesh? Did he know that his hands were stained by the blood of his comrades? And if so, would he still be able to smile?

To Iruka, Naruto had always been and always would be his childish prankster of a student, as innocent as any other child. He had been convinced in the year he had with the boy that no malicious or demonic intent influenced his actions.

It was a morbid thought that he had been proved otherwise.

Iruka smiled and Naruto's frown disappeared, replaced by a smile just as blinding as any other— with the hint of mischief that never seemed to leave those cerulean eyes.

Never would Iruka have wanted to be faced with this dilemma. He had made the decision once, and he was loathe to go back on it now. Naruto was no demon.

Iruka would not hate him for that which the boy could not control— and he refused to believe that Naruto willed the demon's violence on anyone.

Iruka could not hate him.

However, in the tiny, survivalist part of his mind that Iruka, for shame, would never admit to anyone, he feared the boy a little bit.

"Food?"

Iruka nearly chuckled in amusement. It figured that the expectation in the boy's eye's had such a simple purpose.

He shook his head slightly and raised his empty palms. "Sorry," he mouthed.

Naruto slumped.

Iruka dropped his hands, and tried not to feel apprehensive as he stepped across the first circle of barrier seals; the complex array of indecipherable symbols flickered peripherally as the Chuunin stepped inside their chakra field. He stopped, willing himself to breathe deeply through the sudden tightening in his throat that the greater proximity with the blonde— with red, angry eyes full of hate and inhuman teeth and claws— but no, it was just Naruto.

"Sensei?" Naruto frowned at him.

Taking another deep breath, Iruka took another half-step forward, he couldn't will himself across the protection of the last to circles of barrier seals. Steeling himself, he reached out, to do what he came to do.

He ruffled Naruto's hair, and prayed the boy didn't notice the tremble in his hand.

Naruto smiled and leaned into the touch. Iruka knew the boy, always the people person, felt out of place in this white room with its steel-reinforced doors and its black inscriptions, whose stark contrast on the floor and walls grated on the eyes.

The boy needed at least one person to offer some comfort.

Naruto's smile faded as Iruka stepped back again and started a slow retreat for the door.

Iruka didn't think he could handle being so close to the blonde anymore. He looked so innocent! But Iruka knew he was not, and he still trembled at the memory of the hatred in that sweet child's eyes. The eyes that had killed his parents.

"Sensei? Don't leave!"

Iruka managed to wave goodbye as he shut the door after his exit. He turned and sagged against the door once it was closed. He wished he could sigh— with relief or sadness, he would never know— because it was rather difficult to do so when one's larynx had been ripped out of one's throat.

"You okay?"

Iruka jumped; but relaxed when he saw it was only Kakashi.

"You should really take it easy, my little porpoise, you're in no condition to be wandering the halls."

Iruka swatted him one on the shoulder for the ridiculous nickname, but he was glad the man failed to point out the high security vicinity neither of them they were supposed to be in, or the fact that his knees were shaking just enough for a perceptive shinobi such as Kakashi to notice and recognize why.

The twinkle in Kakashi's single visible eye had a calming effect on Iruka, and he willed himself to forget that the door behind him led to a deranged demon child, his fallen student.

"I take it the both of you let yourselves out of the ward."

Iruka jumped away from the door, and was met with the sight of a worn-looking Hokage, too tired to lapse into one of her infamous flying rages reserved for the more unruly hospital patients.

Kakashi replied with only a cool wave, "Yo."

"Where the hell did the ANBU go?"

Iruka blinked. There had been no guards when he had arrived.

Kakashi shrugged and did his usual, "I'm so innocent and I don't care" act. Whether he actually had any involvement in the matter was impossible to discern.

Tsunade sighed. "I swear, the ANBU are getting more and more useless lately."

Iruka frowned, wondering if she was referring to the recent incident with the... attacks.

"Well, we'll be getting back to looking for the cafeteria... you know this hospital gets more confusing every time! Iruka and I seem to have gotten lost and—"

"Oh stuff it, Kakashi," Tsunade waved them off and pushed for Naruto's door. "Now, shoo! The both of you,"

No shinobi had to be told twice by the Godaime.

Tsunade sighed softly as she kicked the door open and was greeted with the painfully familiar sing-song of, "Baa-chan!"

"Hello, Naruto, how are you feeling?" she slipped automatically into bed-manner mode, because she didn't know how else she could handle the situation. She couldn't be angry— at least not at Naruto in his current state— she could only be frustrated, and sad, but she could not let those feelings guide her now. She was the Hokage, after all.

And the Hokage was meant to be dignified and diplomatic. A Hokage had to make all the right decisions— but not for herself, for _everyone_. Her responsibility was to the entirety of Konoha, and therefore every decision she made affected the collective. And Naruto, thanks to the recent circumstances, was no longer part of that collective.

"Naruto is good!" He paused and looked down. "Demo... Naruto can't get up."

Tsunade snorted and reached out to shake one of the chains bolting Naruto to the floor. It rattled with a piercing _CLANK CLANK_ in that hollow room. "That's because Naruto was a very bad boy! You're on time out, mister!"

The boy's eyes widened. "T-timeout! No! N-naruto is good! Naruto is very good! Naruto will never be bad again!"

Tsunade watched the boy's frantic struggle bemusedly. "Calm down, brat."

"Let Naruto go!"

Tsunade glanced at the holding seals. Not even a flicker. That meant his chakra levels were normal and Kyuubi was quiet. Was that enough to prove or disprove one of her theories? He certainly looked agitated... but the seals sensed not even the faintest stirrings of the demon.

She knelt down in front of him, balancing on her heels and wrapping her arms around her knees, but she was sure to not cross the secondary barrier seals. "Naruto."

He must have sensed the expectation in her voice, and stopped to look at her curiously.

"I have a few questions for you. And if you're a good boy and answer them all, I'll..."

He perked up instantly. "Let Naruto out?"

Tsunade pursed her lips. "No..."

"Aww... but Baaaaaa-chaaaaaaan..."

"How does Ramen sound?"

Naruto stared at her, his expression blank, and Tsunade felt her stomach sink when her anticipation of his spontaneous explosion of joy at the offer was left unfulfilled.

"No, Naruto wants out." he said at last, scowling like a three-year-old.

Tsunade sighed, chagrinned. "You want it that bad, huh?"

Naruto nodded solemnly.

"What would you do if I _did_ let you out?"

"Naruto would be a good boy!" he answered brightly, as if he had already prepared this response. "And..." he became serious again. Tsunade wondered if these sudden mood swings were another symptom she should be watching out for. "Naruto would make sure Gaara is happy."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Though it was irrelevant, one of Tsunade's many long-standing theories had been on the depth of involvement between Naruto and Gaara. It was one of the topics she liked to giggle about while intoxicated. "And what would that entail?"

Naruto stared at her. "Gaara doesn't like having his tail touched."

Tsunade stared back, refusing to smirk at the boy's unintended (she assumed) innuendo. "_En_tail. What would you _do_ to make Gaara... happy?" She also struggled to leave the sexual implications of _that_ statement unacknowledged.

Naruto grinned, and the chains clinked as he clasped his hands together next to his cheek in a cute pose little girls assumed when presented with something adorable. "First, I'd give him a _big_ hug! And I'd pet him and give him lots of kisses so he knows I love him!"

Tsunade disguised her amusement rather cleverly with a discreet cough.

Naruto's hands dropped to the floor again, and Tsunade noticed she had lost his attention, as glazed blue eyes stared past her at the wall beyond.

"Naruto?"

He reacted slowly; as if he was coming up through layers of consciousness. Then, two piercing orbs focused on her, and Tsunade felt more than saw the seals flicker in the corner of her eye.

"Baa-chan'll ask question now." Naruto's voice held a sudden urgency, his gaze unnaturally steely.

Tsunade had to wrench her heart of her gut, to force herself to breathe. This was the face of a serious Naruto; she had seen it before and she had always believed herself to understand the layers of this countenance.

This was the face of Naruto, the boy she had adopted as a little brother in her heart. The face, with which he had unbottled her hopes and dreams, sealed away for so many years, and given her a reason to lift her head and look forward again.

She had never realized how fearsome Naruto's determination appeared, having never had it directed at her with such force. There was something unyielding there that made her want to shudder and step back. No wonder he had won so many hopeless battles. This expression was a force within itself.

However, Tsunade set her jaw and asked her question. "What happened to Jiraiya?"

Naruto squinted and appeared to concentrate. "I cannot remember."

Tsunade was in fact slightly surprised he even comprehended the question. Hadn't they just been saying his mind was shot? "Do you remember who Jiraiya is?" It wasn't until after she voiced the second question that she realized Naruto was speaking in first person.

"I know who ero-sennin is." he snapped indignantly. "It is not that Naruto does not remember, it is that Naruto _cannot_."

Well, mostly in first person.

Tsunade leaned forward, itching for the information that might giver her insight into Naruto's mental situation. "Cannot? Do you mean like you are literally incapable, or that maybe... you are prohibited?"

"Naruto cannot." he repeated, his eyes squinted and he pouted childishly. Tsunade wondered if such infantile relapses were some sort of defense mechanism. Defense of what exactly, she couldn't be sure.

"Can Naruto go now?"

Tsunade smiled despite herself; who could not in the face of that childish bounce? "Hang on now, I haven't even said I'd let you go yet."

The ancient medic-nin recoiled at how quickly those eyes hardened into icy steel.

"You will let me go, or I shall find my own way out."

Tsunade got the impression that "my own way out" would entail very destructive means.

"I'll think about it." she conceded cautiously.

Those eyes narrowed. Naruto, her little brother, since when could he look so dangerous? His face was unchanged, his eyes their natural color and shape, and yet his gaze sent icy fingers into her gut.

"Finish your questioning."

Tsunade scowled and straightened her spine. She glanced over the seal array around them out of the corner of her eye. Those seals were temporary at best and superficial at worst. It was the best that could be done with her current resources. She just hoped it was enough.

"Can you tell me anything about Jiraiya?" Tsunade knew she was stressing unsteady ground, but if she had any chance of figuring out the problem, she should start with the most suspicious.

Jiraiya had stopped sending the mandatory letters to brief Tsunade on the Sannin's and Jinchuuriki's journey thus far long before she began to worry. The Toad Hermit was a lazy bastard and intermittent when it came to duty. She didn't even blink when the letters stopped coming.

But then Naruto turned up in Suna.

And something was wrong.

Because Naruto was half-crazy. Because it took Tsunade three months of needling and the threat of sending a diplomatic entourage to Suna to get the Kazekage to let Naruto go. And even then Gaara wouldn't leave the boy be.

Because she hadn't even gotten a postcard from Jiraiya, not even to say so much as, "Hey! I lost the brat and I think he might be going crazy!"

She didn't know whether the stupid Frog Hermit was responsible— even indirectly— of or if some training session had gone wrong. Or if he had failed to protect Naruto in an Akatsuki attack. Or something.

All Tsunade knew was that in order to get to the bottom of this, Jiraiya was the best lead she had.

And he was so getting the beating of his life the next time Tsunade got her hands on him.

"What do you want me to say? That I killed him? That I ripped out his guts and devoured him?" Naruto sneered— an unnatural expression on his kindly face.

Tsunade swallowed, remembering the scenes of his most recent _meals_. She suddenly started worrying for Jiraiya, for the first time in a long time. "I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong, Naruto, so I can fix it."

Something flashed behind steely cerulean, and Tsunade imagined she had seen something half of her wanted to see replacing this new, creepy mask, but the other half repulsed, having seen too many such expressions.

Helplessness. Desperation. Pain. Made all the more potent by his youth.

Then the evil mask slid back into place such that Tsunade wondered if she had been imagining things after all.

"There is nothing to fix. And if there was, you would not be the one I'd ask for help."

Tsunade ignored the cool dismissal, but instead latched onto the last half of his statement. "So? Who _would_ you ask?"

He smiled suddenly, and Tsunade was startled yet again by how seamlessly his expression flitted from ice to warmth. "My little Gaara-chan could certainly help me anytime!"

Tsunade raised her brow at how obviously Naruto waggled his lecherous eyebrows.

These crazy mood swings were really starting to throw her off.

Changing tactics, Tsunade decided to try to keep this warmer, more familiar Naruto nearby, lest the cold one shut the doors again. "So... you and Gaara, how long have you been together?"

Naruto's wide grin shrank into a softer smile. Was that nostalgia in his eyes? "A long time."

"How long? A year? Three years?"

Naruto shrugged. "I can't remember. It feels like forever." He paused. "I think..."

"And how long is that?"

Naruto gave her an annoyed look.

Okay, so maybe she had a little bet going with Kakashi. Could anyone blame her for trying to make a few extra bucks?

Naruto started gazing off into the distance again, right past her shoulder. He was frowning this time. "Are you done yet? Gaara needs me now."

Tsunade instantly slipped into doctor mode. "Gaara shouldn't be waking up for several days, now, at least. He's still recovering."

Naruto's eyes were glazed, yet he spoke with clarity. "But he is awake. And he's scared."

Tsunade frowned. "What makes you think that?"

Naruto smiled, his eyes squinting closed. "Silly Baa-chan! How can Naruto take care of his Gaara-chan if he doesn't keep an eye on him?"

Tsunade raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Right..." Time to change tactics again. "So, Naruto, here's another question: Do you know why you're... why you were bad?"

The boy drooped visibly. "Naruto... no, I... I hurt Gaara-chan. Naruto was very bad."

Tsunade noted the short change back to first person, and pondered its meaning. "Actually, I meant... do you understand what's— what's wrong with you?" She winced at her own terrible wording.

Naruto frowned at her, his head cocked. "Naruto is chained to the floor?"

"No," Tsunade chuckled. "I mean— do you remember how you used to be, Naruto?"

The boy stared at her, and Tsunade recognized the slow, excruciating shadow of broken hope bursting behind his eyes again. "Sometimes."

"And do you know why you are no longer like that? What happened?" Tsunade leaned forward. This reply could mean everything.

However, it seemed the answer Tsunade sought was not forthcoming, as Naruto's eyes filled again with that blue ice that Tsunade already knew she hated with a vengeance. Gleaming, inhumanly sharp teeth— the same as always, but only now appearing threatening— were bared in a snarl of a smile. "You seek answers you do not deserve."

Tsunade scowled and jumped up, towering over the Jinchuuriki crouched on the floor, held there by thick chains. "Who are you? Are you Kyuubi?"

Something— dishonesty? humor? — glimmered behind his eyes. "I am not Naruto."

Tsunade froze. She could see the seals in her peripheral vision, and they had yet to even flicker. The seals were specially tuned to Kyuubi's chakra and should have been glowing blindingly in the demon's presence.

But they didn't appear to detect anything at all.

"Kyuubi—"

"I am neither Kyuubi."

Tsunade blinked. Then frowned. "Then what—"

Naruto posed, mockingly thoughtful. "Now, what was that old philosophical puzzle? You know, that one where if you take apart the boat or change it, the question is, is it still the same boat when it's just a pile of boards or has new additions?" Ice glittered in those eyes; Tsunade shivered. "What do you think, Baa-chan? Is the boat the boat when it is no longer a boat?"

Tsunade swallowed, digesting the words' possible implications. "That depends, what has the boat become?"

Naruto turned thoughtful, truly thoughtful. "I don't know. It hasn't been rebuilt yet and there are no blueprints to go by."

Before Tsunade could even consider the meaning behind the words of this not-Naruto, the door burst open.

"Tsunade-sama! Gaara-sama is— ah!" the young kunoichi faltered as she noticed Naruto. What person wouldn't when confronted with those eyes— brightened with an animalistic interest at the mention of Gaara— in a friend's face?

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, Sakura?"

"Um," the girl's hands came together at the level of her waist, twisting uncomfortably. "I'm sorry for—"

"What about Gaara?"

Sakura jumped as Naruto spoke. Tsunade wondered if she, to, saw the unnatural quality of his expression that— when looked into too deeply, would cause something instinctually inside her chest to twist in a sickly mixture of sorrow and fear.

"Um," Sakura pulled her eyes from Naruto with difficulty. "Gaara is asking for Naruto."

Tsunade twitched with surprise. "He's awake?"

Naruto grinned childishly, Tsunade welcomed the mood change. "Told ya so!" he mocked in a sing-song.

Tsunade frowned and addressed her apprentice, ignoring Naruto's mischievous gaze on her. "He shouldn't be awake. Did you give him the correct dosage of the chakra inhibitor?"

"Hai! Four milligrams of Oxymyconym, like you said, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade scowled. The same thing had often happened with Naruto when she had treated him in the past. No drug could keep him down for long, and any anesthetic effects lasted for even less time. Apparently, Gaara had the same frustrating (for a medic-nin, she supposed it would come in handy to insulate against the many poisons that could be encountered in the shinobi world) tolerance. She had even taken extra precautions and given the Jinchuuriki a large enough dosage to completely shut down the chakra systems of a hundred shinobi with similar statures. "Give him another two milligrams."

Naruto growled deep in his throat.

"Well..." Sakura fidgeted.

Tsunade glared, wondering why her apprentice hadn't scurried off to execute her orders yet.

"He really wants to see Naruto."

The Hokage glanced at said blonde, who grinned with an expectant gleam in his eyes. She sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

The grin was instantly washed away.

"Um, Tsunade-sama..."

"Sakura, did I not just tell you to do something?"

"Oh, well," she half-turned, as if ready to leave, but was uncertain. "Well, he— I think he's really freaked out."

"So? Give him another half-dosage of Oxymyconym and he should calm down."

"He's having a sort of panic attack."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Sakura shrunk. "I think, he's just— would it really hurt to let them _see_ each other?"

Tsunade glanced back at Naruto, there was an unspoken threat in those un-Naruto eyes. "We can't move Naruto. The seals must stay in place."

"Then we can bring Gaara here!"

Tsunade gave her the are-you-crazy? look. "Kazekage is severely injured—"

"I promised!"

Tsunade paused.

Sakura seemed to deflate after her sudden outburst, but, glancing at Naruto, she set her shoulders again. "Tsunade-sama, Gaara-sama is very upset, and... I think it would be in the interest of his recovery if we give him what he wants. If he sees Naruto... he'll calm down and probably heal faster."

Tsunade sighed. "Are you saying that you think— from a medical perspective— that it would be a good idea to put Gaara and Naruto together?"

Sakura seemed to have found her courage, as she continued to back up her argument. "It has been proven that putting the members of a shinobi team in the same room as they heal encourages better healing rates. I'm sure the same effect could be found with Gaara-sama."

Tsunade smirked. Now her apprentice was talking like a medic-nin. "Fine, but take all necessary precautions in moving him."

"Hai! Tsunade-sama!"

The Hokage glanced back at her blonde captive as Sakura left.

Naruto smiled at her, a mocking gleam in his eye. "Now, I told you so, didn't I?"

Tsunade 'hmmed,' frowing.

"And by the way," Naruto leaned forward, eyes dark.

Tsunade thought she saw the seals flicker— but it was so small, she could have imagined it.

"It won't be a boat."

* * *

He took Gaara with a gentleness that belied the sharp, almost predatory attention in his eyes. The chains clanked as he shifted, and Gaara was settled gently on the more level setting of Naruto's recently crossed legs. 

Gaara automatically wrapped his arms around Naruto as best he could with his unresponsive limbs, trying to get a handhold on the blonde in case anyone planned on trying to separate them again. While he managed to get a hand on the shoulder supporting him, Gaara could only reach high enough to grip the cloth over Naruto's breastbone with his other.

Kankurou remained kneeling within the circle of the secondary barrier seals, his hands still hung in the air, hesitant after releasing the small form o his brother.

Tsunade watched with a critical eye from the side, wondering if that hesitance was born of mistrust. Perhaps the Sand siblings were not as keen on Gaara's safety in Naruto's hands as they were currently asserting.

Once Gaara was secure in his lap, Naruto set about a comprehensive inspection of the hazy redhead. Gaara blinked slowly, still disoriented from his recent bout of movement, as Naruto snuffled at his face, and his hair.

Kankurou stepped away quickly, fleeing to the protection of the third barrier seal, as a threatening rumble bubbled up from the boy's throat. However, the growl was directed at the central IV inserted in the junction of Gaara's neck and shoulder.

"Um, it's just water and nutrients and some antibiotics." Sakura spoke up from halfway across the room where she was busying herself with steadying the IV stand. "His chakra system is not functioning at anywhere near capacity at the moment, so neither is his immune system. It's to keep him from getting sick or dehydrated and malnourished."

Naruto stared at her skeptically for a minute.

Then he ripped the IV out.

"H-hey—"

Naruto paid them no mind, and licked the small puncture wound on Gaara's shoulder until it stopped bleeding.

Tsunade sighed. The boys' immune systems were likely as incredible as their healing rates and metabolisms, especially considering she had no official record of either of them ever suffering from infection.

Gaara just hummed softly, his eyelids at half-mast, as Naruto went on with his scrutiny. He didn't even flinch as Naruto got to his pants, which the blonde promptly stuck his hand into, and apparently fondled his privates to make sure everything was there.

At last, ten minutes later, Naruto seemed satisfied. He looked up at the medic-nin and Suna-nin watching him.

He grinned. "I can keep him right?"

"No."

Naruto scowled. Then switched tactics to pouting. "Please? Pwetty pweeeeeaase?"

"I said 'no.'" Tsunade stood her ground.

Naruto harrumphed. He looked down at the redhead against his shoulder admiring him with dazed eyes. He smiled softly, just for him. "Are you ready, Gaara-chan?"

Despite his obviously muddled state, there was comprehension in Gaara's eyes as he nodded— or rolled his head in acquiescence, more like.

Before anyone could decipher any meaning from the short interaction, Naruto was on his feet, Gaara cradled in his arms bridle style. The steel chains attached to the collar around his neck, not long enough to accommodate any position greater than kneeling, snapped as easily as the parting of wet noodles.

Temari and Kankurou didn't even move, neither did they appear surprised.

As Sakura froze, Tsunade held her ground blocking the door. "You won't be able to cross the seals." She warned; her mind already moving on to the complications that she'd have to deal with in the ER if Naruto tried to carry Gaara across the barrier seals. They were meant to target Kyuubi, but they weren't the must precise example of fuuinjutsu. With Gaara in contact with the Kyuubi vessel, Tsunade suspected she'd be dealing with further internal damage in the Kazekage when the seals' effects took hold.

Naruto moved, and suddenly he was standing in front of Tsunade, completely outside the circle of the three barrier seals. "Move, Baa-chan!"

Tsunade stared. "How...?" Were Konoha's seal specialists really this useless? Where was Jiraiya when you needed him?!

The fox grin widened. "I disabled those stupid seals a _long_ time ago, Baa-chan!"

Naruto hefted Gaara's lax body in his arms.

And disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Yay! I get to write fluff next chapter. Naruto and Gaara sitting in a cave... K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Well, it's not actually a cave.

This chapter is exceptionally long to make up for the time I have been away, I hope it assuages any contempt among my readers... :P

Leave me love! It makes me write more fluff. Or porn. Whichever you prefer.


	11. Recovery

**A/N: My... it's been longer than I intended. It wasn't that this chapter was particularly difficult, but I just haven't been in the mood to write porn lately... hint hint**

**Anyway, there's quite a bit going on here, it's a longer chapter than usual. You'll see here the beginning of all the unfortunate events which will lead to the climax. Yay! Rising action!**

**Behind the Sun**

**Chapter 11: Recovery**

* * *

In minutes, the entire hospital was in an uproar. At the news that the Jinchuuriki were on the loose, nurses were panicking to and fro and more ANBU were summoned. Tsunade had to use her scary Hokage face to stop evacuation attempts and to convince any of the staff to help with the search.

Temari and Kankurou just sighed and rolled their eyes.

Sakura eyed them apprehensively. "Aren't you guys upset at all? He's got your little brother."

Kankurou snorted at this. "Truth be told, Gaara's probably safer with him than with us."

"Or more comfortable, at least," Temari added with chagrin.

"But still," Tsunade took an interest in the exchange, "aren't you worried in the least? It was Naruto who originally gave Gaara his injuries, that much is clear."

Temari shook her head. "Yeah, but Naruto would never hurt him."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Kyuubi would," Kankurou added.

"But... you're still not worrying?" Tsunade was skeptical.

The siblings shared a glance.

"Well... you know how Naruto has always seemed stronger in a fight when he is protecting someone important to him?"

Both medic-nin nodded.

"Well, Gaara's obviously in need of protection right now, so the _Naruto_ side of his psyche is on edge because of that."

"You're saying that Naruto can resist the Kyuubi better when he feels Gaara is in danger?"

"No, it's quite the opposite really." Kankurou shrugged.

"When it comes to anyone _but_ Gaara, that is." Temari added. "He'll get pretty pissed if you present any threat to Gaara, and that can mean he'll lose his control to the Kyuubi even more easily than usual."

"Ah..." Tsunade remembered her recent conversation with the Kyuubi vessel, and realized that he must have been worrying about Gaara the entire time.

"But as long as you don't provoke him, he's probably at his safest at the moment, because he'll be focusing on Gaara."

"Unless he gets hungry," Kankurou added.

"Unless he gets hungry," his sister agreed. "But all you have to do is keep him well fed."

"Hmm," hummed Tsunade. "Seems like you've been through this sort of thing before."

Kankurou snorted. "You could say that again."

Temari glared at him.

"So, you wouldn't have any way to predict what Naruto's up to now, would you?"

The siblings blinked. "That's easy!"

Tsunade growled. Why hadn't they said so before? "Well?"

Temari and Kankurou shared another glance.

"Well, with Gaara in such bad shape, there's no way he's gone very far." Kankurou scratched his nose thoughtfully. "He's probably holed himself up somewhere comfortable where it will be very hard to find him."

"Is that all?"

Kankurou glanced at Temari, and shrugged.

The Hokage snapped her fingers and two ANBU appeared on either side of her.

"The Jinchuuriki have likely gone into hiding, and may remain peaceful if left unprovoked. Find them, but do not make contact, and report back to me. Pass on my orders."

Two stiff salutes and poofs of smoke later, the ANBU were gone.

* * *

Naruto whined softly, and bumped a pale cheek with his nose. He was so _still_ and he didn't like it.

"Mmm..." Gaara shifted, eye lids fluttering, before falling motionless again.

The blonde perked up briefly, before slumping again.

"Waaah... Wake up, Gaara-chaaaaaan..."

The fox was a painful pulse in his mind, clouding his thoughts. Gaara would be hungry when he woke up; he should go on a hunt _now_, the voice urged. But Naruto couldn't leave Gaara, not while he was defenseless.

He licked his nose. It was dry. Was that bad? Was Gaara animal or human? He couldn't remember.

Naruto growled in frustration. He knew he should know that, but every time he tried to reach for something in his mind, the thought would slip out of his grasp, behind a fog of red. Bastard fox!

"Naruto..."

He immediately jerked up again, ecstatic to hear that quiet baritone. "Gaara!"

Teal eyes were open, and appeared alert.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Gaara didn't seem to hear his concern, and gave him a shy smile as he tugged on the front of Naruto's jacket, pulling Naruto forward onto himself.

Gaara's expression was soft, vulnerable, and expectant. Wanting. Naruto felt his heart start to pound as he recognized Gaara's "come hither" face.

The blonde grinned as Gaara kissed him. Gaara _must_ be feeling better if he was feeling up to the sex his eyes were implying. And Naruto was definitely not one to argue.

The fox rumbled in appreciation as Naruto insinuated a knee between Gaara's thighs.

Gaara gave a soft gasp, before hesitantly spreading his legs to give Naruto more room.

Chuckling to himself, he quickly shifted to fill the space he had been given. Gaara made a deliciously surprised squeaking sound as he soon found something hard pressing against the inside of his thigh.

Naruto loved it when Gaara did the innocent virgin act.

And he was really getting into the character this time.

Gaara arched upward, making that breathless squeaking sound again, as one of Naruto's hands slipped under him to trace his vertebrae. Naruto growled, liking the way that made the lithe redhead press up against him.

Gaara was far from the innocent and naïve virgin he was pretending to be, not after all that they had done together. However, Naruto just happened to think it was incredibly sexy. Especially on his saucy little redhead.

Gaara was still looking up at him with that adorably shy expression; his eyes were full of uncertainty, and just the right amount of fear to spark Naruto's more primal instincts, without making him feel like a rapist.

He leaned down, slipping into his "big bad wolf" persona to compliment the virgin one. "Don't worry, Gaara-chan," Naruto grinned ferally, "I'll fuck you long and hard, just the way you like it."

At the words, Gaara's expression softened into something lovely and sad as the fear disappeared. "No, it's okay..."

Inwardly, Naruto frowned. Usually, when Naruto said something like he had while Gaara was doing the virgin act, he would get a very sexy breathy moan in reply that said something along the lines of, "Oh, Naruto! I don't think I could take it!" or one of Naruto's personal favorites, "Oh, Naruto! Take me now before your voice gives me an orgasm!"

He flinched as a painful thundering in his head signaled the fox's laughter. **DO YOU STILL NOT KNOW WHAT SARCASM IS?**

"Shut up, stupid fox!" Gaara would never make fun of him in bed, would he?

Naruto thought for a moment. Nawww... he was too damn sexy to be made fun of in bed.

Naruto's attention was brought back to the redhead beneath him as he felt himself being tugged down again. Gaara chewed his bottom lip, and coyly pulled on his jacket repeatedly.

"Now hurry up, I don't want you to stare at me all night."

Naruto had been staring, but he had barely paused a moment for his internal argument, but all thoughts of the misplaced statement went straight from his mind as his eyes latched onto the plump lip Gaara's teeth were currently abusing.

Grinning, Naruto growled possessively as he swooped down to claim that delectable bit of pink flesh between his own teeth. Gaara made that delightful gasping sound again as he felt fangs scraping over his sensitive skin. Naruto noted to himself that he would have to commend Gaara on his performance later.

Leaving Gaara's lip satisfactorily bruised, Naruto took advantage of Gaara's gasping mouth to slip inside.

Naruto moaned. No matter what Kyuubi did, he would never forget the taste of Gaara. From the earthy salt on his skin, to the sweet tang of desert fruits on his tongue with that hint of something he could never quite place, to the bitter musk of his penis, it was all indelibly written into the memory of Naruto's taste buds.

**BITE! BITE! HIS BLOOD TASTES BEST!**

Naruto's blood furrowed; he delved deeper into Gaara's mouth, lapping up his indescribable taste and ignoring the demon.

However, somehow, the insistent tugging on his jacket became pushing. And Naruto realized that Gaara was not moaning in pleasure, but coughing.

He reeled back immediately, and lifted his upper torso to give the redhead room to breathe.

"Gaara! Are you alright?"

The redhead glared at him through his coughing fit, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What— hah! —did you think you were doing!"

"I— well, I was—"

"Next time I'm unconscious, don't stick your tongue down my throat! You nearly choked me to death! You're lucky the sedative has worn off, or I might not have woken up!"

"Gaara— I..." Naruto stuttered as his mind floundered. Unconscious? Sedative? When did that happen? Hadn't they just been going for a romp a moment ago?

Then the synapses reconnected, and Naruto's reality of the last five minutes flowed away like a dream. Only it wasn't a dream, he realized, it was a memory. "I... thought we were... you were..." He shut his mouth, meeting Gaara's accusing gaze. "Kyuubi made me think I was reliving our... first time, I think."

Gaara frowned up at him, some of the fire leaving his eyes. "You remember that?"

"How could I forget that! Our first time!"

Gaara smirked. "I would think you would want to forget it, considering all the mistakes you made."

"Wuh? Hey! I did a good job! You liked it!"

Pointedly glancing down between their bodies, Gaara indicted the tell-tale tent of Naruto's pants with the sweep of his eyes. "But you're no less eager, I see."

"Eh... well... what can I say?" Naruto grinned foolishly, and turned Gaara's jabs into a compliment. "You're so sexy, I can hardly resist you!"

The Kazekage rolled his eyes at the corny line.

Aww... Naruto missed the virgin act already.

"...Right, now get off me."

Naruto pouted.

"No, I will not engage in any sexual activities with you at this point in time, no matter the ridiculous faces you make at me. Move!"

Whining, he obligingly rolled over, allowing Gaara to sit up.

Every vertebra cracked as Gaara pulled himself into an upright position, bringing out a wince from both the Jinchuuriki.

Naruto watched as Gaara rolled his shoulders and experimentally flexed his fingers. "How ya feel?"

"Stiff," he scowled as he made a fist on the third try. He bent his knees and made circles with his ankles. "But there's no pain. Shukaku seems to have already repaired all of the physical damage."

"Good! That means we can have sex now?"

Naruto retreated to the edge of the bed with a whimper as Gaara turned a full-power glower on him. "Okay, okay... I'm sorry."

Gaara sighed, letting his eyes drift as his target was sufficiently reprimanded.

He coughed. "Do you have any water?"

"Oh! I thought of that! I did, dattebayo!" Naruto zipped across the room to the sink where he dropped a paper cup from the wall dispenser, which looked to be rusted to the wall, and quickly hopped back with the liquid sloshing all over the floor.

Gaara smiled vaguely at the hyper blonde as he accepted the cup. "So... why are we still in the hospital?"

Naruto blinked at him. "We're not."

Glancing around the room to make sure his eyes were functioning, Gaara frowned. "Well... this looks like a Konohan examination room to me..." Except for the thick layer of dust over everything, turning everything gray in the shadowed room, and perhaps the slightly dated equipment, it really did look like it could be a room in the hospital. Maybe it was just an old room that had fallen out of use?

"Nope! It's some sort of subterranean research center, I think. Been abandoned for years."

"Hmm..." Gaara held out his cup, and Naruto rushed to refill it. "So, the possibility of our discovery?"

Naruto shrugged. "This place is connected to the sewers. I've been coming down through the pipes and hiding out here for years. Haven't been caught yet." Naruto frowned as he tried to remember what he had been doing all those years that required such escape measures.

"Hey! Are you hungry?"

"Aa?" Gaara startled at the sudden volume. "No... not really..."

"If you're hunger, I can get you something to eat! The rats around here are HUGE!"

"Rats...?"

"I've even seen a couple snakes around here— man, I love snake! —and some of 'em dwarf the rats! And let me tell 'ya, those rats are, like, GY-NORMOUS'dattebayo!"

"Naruto, 'gynormous'is not a word."

"Eh? It's not?"

Gaara sighed.

* * *

Hinata edged carefully into the room, lest her entry cause any disturbance. It wasn't that she was trying to be especially courteous in the hospital, she just always did that.

"He's stable." Shino observed, not bothering to turn to greet his shy teammate.

Hinata hesitantly stepped up beside the stoic bug-nin.

Kiba was pale and motionless on the starched hospital bed, with wires seeming to anchor him to a variety of intimidating machines, but he would be okay.

That was a small relief in a sea of troubles, but it made Hinata feel just a little stronger.

"Naruto's free."

The diminutive Hyuuga jumped. "H-hai, I heard. He took Gaara-sama, too..."

"Kurenai-sensei is dead."

Silence descended in the hospital room for a moment.

Hinata didn't know what to say to that.

"She died two hours ago. Massive system failure. She never woke up." Shino started rattling off the facts. It was one of his coping mechanisms. Stating the obvious helped distract him from his own feelings.

"Th-there was... nothing more... the medics could do." Hinata pushed her fingers together. "A-at l-least she didn't— didn't suffer."

"True." Shino conceded. "It is hard to suffer when one's cognitive functions are not being actively processed." That was Shino's way of saying "coma."

"H-hai..."

Silence again. It made Hinata shiver.

"I—I hope... Naruto-kun and Gaara-sama are alright."

"I'm sure they can take care of themselves. I'm just more worried about the ninja that have gone looking for them."

Hinata looked down at her fidgeting fingers, then looked up to gaze at Kiba's frail features.

He had already lost a loved one to the demonic duo, and his sensei, thought he had yet to be informed of the passing of the latter. He was her teammate, and yet Hinata couldn't help but feel... _angry_.

How like Kiba to instigate an enemy he could not take on. How like him to look beyond reason to the point that he ceased to think like a the ninja he should. How like him to make a mess of this.

Normally, Hinata would forgive him with ease— who was she to pass judgment on him, much less anyone else? However, Hinata couldn't help but to quietly curse her teammate and his stupidity. Who was _he_ to say such things of Naruto? Who was he to think he could push Uzumaki into the stereotype of the stupid, desperate clown just like so many others had before? But most of all, who was he to make Naruto react so? She remembered the hate in his eyes, the pure, unbridled rage.

Kiba was an animal, a dumb beast, just like his dead best friend. Nobody treated Naruto like that, but most of all, only the unworthy earned Naruto's hate.

Hinata blinked, shaking herself as she realized she had been glaring at Kiba's still form with her Byakkugan activated.

She took a deep breath.

Kiba was her teammate, she should stand by him.

But... Naruto had made him an enemy.

* * *

"So... tell me again, what can we expect?"

Temari and Kankurou groaned. If they had know this would turn into an interrogation, they would have kept their mouths shut.

"They're going to stay in hiding at _least_ until Gaara is fully healed. Longer if they have a good supply of food and water."

"Where?"

"I don't know!"

"Some place where it's hard to find them." Temari repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Elaborate?"

The Sand sister shook her head, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "It means exactly that! They could be in the broom closet down the hall, or some old lady's attic, or up the Sandaime Hokage's nose on your Kage mountain, but where ever they are, it'll be the last place you look, and the last you expect!"

Tsunade frowned, tapping her fingers on her desk. "Are those actual possibilities?"

"We did find them hanging out in a senile old lady's attic, once." Kankurou smirked. "She thought she had squirrels."

"But Naruto rarely repeats an escape pattern, once it fails." Temari added.

Tsunade sighed. "Is there no information you can give me to help us find them?"

"Not really, even Gaara has trouble finding the brat when he doesn't want to be found." Kankurou frowned. "Buh-ut... it is possible to lure them out."

Tsunade sat up straight. "What?! And you didn't mention this before—"

"Because it won't work for at least another day," Temari threw her brother a glare as she cut the Kage off. She could get away with this, as she more often dealt with an even more volatile Kage. "Until Gaara is fully healed, there's no way Naruto will leave him, or let anyone near."

The Hokage scowled, and glared suspiciously at the Sand siblings. "Well? How can we lure them?"

Kankurou grinned, rubbing his belly as he leant back in his chair. "A giant bowl of ramen should do the trick."

Tsunade's brows rose skeptically. "Ramen?"

"Yep. The more flavors, the better."

"You're serious?" The Hokage glanced between the siblings, searching for an untruth. Well... it figured that a giant bowl of ramen to Naruto would be like a fire to a moth.

"Fresh blood also tends to attract him, that and cooking meat." Temari spoke up. "Just like any animal, he's drawn by the prospect of food. The thing is, when he's in a different mindset, his appetite is also different. The purpose of the ramen is to make sure that when he is lure, he is in a friendly mood."

Tsunade rested her chin on her fist. "Ah... now, that makes sense."

Kankurou fixed the Kage with a narrowed gaze. "That means, if he's attracted by the ramen, there's no need to try to capture him or something." he said with a meaningful glare.

"That would probably just provoke him, anyway." Temari added. "His moods will change quickly with the right stimulus."

Tsunade frowned. She didn't like that these two were trying to tell her how to take care of what she considered a Konohan affair. However, she had to remember, their little brother was wrapped up in this as well.

"We'll see about that."

Temari and Kankurou scowled.

"But... I'll see what we can do." Tsunade ceded cautiously.

The siblings barely relaxed.

"I understand that it appears a direct attack is not the best course of action. For now, we better now worry about _getting_ a giant bowl of ramen." She snapped her fingers, and an ANBU stepped from the shadows. "Get me the man that runs that Ichiraku Ramen stand. Be nice, we need his cooperation."

A nod, and the ANBU was gone in a 'poof.'

The Sand siblings were watching her with guarded expressions as she turned her attention back to them. "Well then, what else haven't you told me?"

"You do realize, that should you provoke him again, he could go on another rampage?"

"I understand that," Tsunade frowned at the girl's tone. "We'll be doing everything in our power to prevent that."

"Humph," sniffed Temari.

Kankurou sunk deeper into his seat. He was starting to tire of Temari and Tsunade's subtle bickering. Why didn't they just admit they didn't like each other and move on to fisticuffs?

Guys made it so much simpler; why did girls have to complicate everything?

* * *

"Gaara-chaaaaan..." whined the boy, rubbing his face into Gaara's lap like a cat.

Gaara tried to ignore how close he was to nuzzling his crotch.

"Don't you like it?"

It's... lovely. Really." Gaara pushed the _very_ dead rat further away from himself with a foot. Naruto was not exaggerating when he said they were gargantuan. "But... I'm not hungry."

Naruto looked up, and Gaara's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. The boy grinned, and Gaara gritted his teeth. "Are you sure about that?"

"I..." sighed Gaara. "... don't want to eat that." He grimaced at the giant rodent carcass. He was quite sure it was diseased. And possibly radioactive.

"Oh..." the blonde pouted, before a mischievous glint flitted across his expression. "So... you would like something else?"

Gaara glared down at the suspicious blonde. "As long as it's not going to give me cancer, I suppose."

Naruto's lips slowly stretched into a grin, making him look even more suspicious. He was definitely up to no good. "I think I've got something else for you, then."

Gaara's eyebrows rose as the blonde slowly crept into his lap, pushing his shoulders back into the cabinet counter they were leaning against. The redhead grimaced as a metal handle dug sharply into his shoulder blade.

"So, Gaara?" Naruto leaned over him, and straddled the redhead with deliberate slowness. "Are you _hungry_?"

"I'm not giving you head."

Naruto looked affronted. "W-what? Gaara-chan—"

"When I say '_no_,' I mean '_no_.' How many times am I going to have to repeat myself?" said Gaara without inflection. Despite the apparent apathy, it was the complete lack of tone which tipped Naruto off to the fact that the redhead was very annoyed.

The blonde huffed. "Am I not going to get _anything_?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. Naruto had been particularly persistent, asking Gaara for favors, or pointing out innuendos every chance he got ever since he woke up. "Give it a rest. I'm just not feeling up to it."

"Oh, I'll give you a _rest_!" Naruto waggled his eyebrows with a lecherous grin. "The best rest you've ever had'ttebayo!"

Gaara stared at him.

The blonde's grin gradually dimmed as he failed to get a reaction from the redhead.

"You're obviously running out of ammo, because that wasn't even funny. It was just lame."

"What!" squawked the horny Jinchuuriki. "It was not lame!"

"Yes, it was."

"Was not!"

"Was, too, and you know it."

"Well— well, you're a big meanie!"

Gaara fixed the blonde above him with a skeptical look. "A big meanie? Naruto, truly, you wound me."

"What!? Where?" Gaara grunted as Naruto went into a sudden panic, and searched Gaara's body for any abnormality.

He blinked at the sudden change in demeanor. "Naruto—"

"M'sorry! M'sorry! Forgive me, Gaara-chan!"

He winced as Naruto licked his face, much like a dog would to comfort a pack member. "Naruto, I'm fine."

"Did I make it better?" asked the blonde childishly, kissing Gaara's nose for good measure.

"... Yes," Gaara conceded, unwilling to take the effort to explain that he had never been hurt in the first place.

Naruto relaxed; the crisis was averted. He nudged Gaara's nose with his own. "I don'wanna hurt you, Gaara-chan."

"I know, Naruto," sighed Gaara.

His blue eyes were morose as he nudged him again. "But Naruto _did_... Naruto's... I'm sorry."

"I know, Naruto," Gaara had already forgiven him, had never held a grudge in the first place. Even so, Gaara felt the sudden need to wipe the regret from Naruto's eyes. It wouldn't do to have his loved one in pain, if he could help it.

"How about this," Gaara brought his hands up to squeeze the twin globules of Naruto's ass. "I am feeling a little better, so why don't you go sit over there," Gaara indicated the cot he had woken up on with a jerk of his head. "And I make _you_ feel better?"

Naruto had perked up as soon as he felt the redhead's hands on him. However, his perverted grin lasted barely a moment before faltering. "But... I thought you weren't feeling well enough?"

Gaara scoffed. _Now_ the blonde decided to voice his concern? The Kazekage would have none of it.

Before Naruto could catch on, Gaara slid his hands around his orange-clad hips until he found his pockets, which he plunged into— and lifted once he got his grip.

Naruto squeaked, completely not expecting the sneak attack.

Smirking, the redhead looked up at the blonde with raised eyebrows. "Huh, I guess I _am_ hungry."

Gaara knew he had forgotten all previous concerns as he teasingly toyed with him through the cloth. Naruto's eyes went from sympathetic to smoldering in seconds.

The grin was back. "Gaara—"

The redhead slipped his hands out of the orange pockets as quickly as he had slipped them in, and tilted his head toward the cot meaningfully.

Naruto didn't have to be told twice.

Hiding a wince as Gaara pushed himself into a crouching position, he stood and sauntered over to the dusty cot behind the excited blonde. He would definitely have to take it easy. Something told him the scenario wouldn't go over too well if he ran out of energy or his muscles gave out half way through.

As per command, Naruto sat, and waited expectantly for Gaara's next move. Normally, he would have already grabbed the redhead in his impatience, and thrown him down; but the small measure of caution with which he held back attested to his still-present concern for Gaara's health.

Gaara paused, wondering which position would hurt less, before he decide Naruto's current one would be best for his back. He dropped to all fours, and crawled the rest of the way with a tempting expression.

Naruto swallowed, watching him, and clenched and unclenched his fists, which were resting on his thighs.

Reaching him, Gaara grabbed the insides of Naruto's knees with each hand, and roughly pulled them apart with a sadistic grin.

Grinning himself, Naruto leaned back on his hands, giving Gaara better access to his fly.

Careful not to break their locked gazes, Gaara leaned forward and put his talented mouth to work on Naruto's pants. Much practice had left Gaara with the questionable ability to remove any article of clothing from someone else's person with the use of only his teeth, lips, and tongue. While not very useful, even for a ninja, Naruto loved it.

The blonde growled, watching as Gaara's efforts made short work of the clasp, and Naruto's zipper was pulled open with a set of small, sharp teeth. Those sea foam eyes staring up at him from between his thighs with a heated look made him melt.

After Gaara had pulled his pants open as far as they would go, Naruto lifted his hips to allow the redhead to remove them. However, he instead got the pleasant surprise of having Gaara's face rubbed against his hard-on through the thin material of his boxers.

Gaara purred as he nuzzled Naruto's privates, loving the familiar musk that filled his nostrils. Naruto chuckled, watching him, and gently rolled his hips upward.

The redhead gave him a lick, but frowned as his tongue scratched over dry cotton. Ah yes, that would have to be remedied.

Naruto squeaked as his pants and boxers were ripped from him in one fluid motion. Gaara discarded them, throwing them across the room so Naruto would have to get up to get them later. But the blonde didn't mind.

Naruto couldn't help but to giggle and squirm a little as Gaara started again by licking and nipping his way up his inner thigh. He was ticklish there!

"Stay still," the redhead muttered against his skin.

Naruto twitched. "I'm trying!" he laughed.

Growling as another jerking motion dislodged him from golden-brown flesh again, Gaara bit down in annoyance.

Naruto whined. It didn't hurt, but he pretended it did anyway. "I'm sorry, Gaara-sama! I'll be good!"

"Hmph," the redhead let go, with the unspoken command of, "You _better_."

Pushing apart the thighs threatening to box his ears if Naruto jumped again, Gaara skipped the last six inches of skin to go straight for the junction where his leg met his body.

Naruto sighed softly as Gaara nibbled the tendon there, the less fleeting sensation, and the new proximity of Gaara's hot mouth to his desire reminded him anew of the erotic situation.

He willed himself not to make a sound as Gaara turned his face to bury his nose in his dark gold curls. He willed himself not to tremble as the silken moonshine of his cheek brushed his need.

Half of Gaara's face was hidden from him, but Naruto could discern the smirk in Gaara's eyes as he turned and placed an almost chaste kiss on the engorged shaft of his penis.

Naruto grunted, "Tease."

Gaara gave him a smug glance, before going on to follow the rest of his length with a line of unsatisfying pecks. Naruto struggled to not start squirming again, as the brief, butterfly touches of those soft lips, so close to what he wanted, slowly drove him insane.

Finally, Gaara reached the head, and Naruto knew, at this point, that even the smallest stimulus there would make him buck. But no, instead the tantalizing redhead simply exhaled, releasing a hot, moist puff of air that only left him wanting.

Naruto growled.

Gaara smirked; his mouth open in a taunting gape, so close Naruto could feel the heat of his lips. An impatient grumble in the back of his mind urged him to just take what he wanted, to thrust upward and hold the Jinchuuriki by the hair as he callously fucked his face.

But for once, Naruto knew that was wrong.

Plus, Gaara might bite him.

"Gaara—" he was coming to the end of his strength in his battle against his most animal instincts, as Gaara started from the bottom again to give him a long, languid lick. "Stop— teasing!"

The sultry temptation between his legs raised a shadowed brow as Naruto growled. "That's not how _polite_ boys ask—"

"PLEASE!"

Gaara rolled his eyes at the blonde's impatience. However, he _had_ said the magic word.

Naruto tensed, willing himself still lest he cause the redhead between his legs any discomfort. His hands fisted in the effort, bunching up the dusty old sheets under his palms. Sometimes he wondered if Gaara even knew the half of how amazing his mouth was.

Then again, as he gazed down into smug, bobbing teal, he probably did.

Naruto gave a strangled cry as Gaara's lips left his penis, but only to mercilessly attack the sensitive slit atop it with teeth and tongue.

Just before Naruto thought he would lose control, Gaara engulfed him again.

He shuddered as, instead of the swirl of that delectable tongue, Gaara's teeth grazed him on the way back up. Attempted by anyone less experienced, that probably would have hurt, but it only served to make his loins jerk tighter with the sharp pleasure it brought.

Naruto nearly jumped as two fingers found their way to the soft spot behind his testicles, while the palm and thumb of that sneaky hand gently cupped and kneaded him. Gaara knew this, coupled with the rippling of pleasure coming through his manhood from Gaara's skilled mouth, could intensify the sensations Naruto felt. It also gave him a new incentive to squirm, as the gentle pressure of the pads of Gaara's fingers in such a vulnerable spot just made him want more friction.

He whimpered, finally loosing control of his hands and grabbing Gaara's hair, as the redhead took in as much of him as he could, and hummed hard. He thrust once, before the tightening of Gaara's hand on his balls warned him to stop.

"G-gaara..."

Naruto cursed as the Kazekage answered with a hum, "Mm-hmmmm?"

"I..." he panted, trying to remember what he intended to say, as Gaara continued with his shallow bobbing— never releasing him from the tight hold of his throat— and his mind-breaking humming.

"I..." he trembled, his fist pulling Gaara's hair tight. The grip on his balls loosened, and Naruto thrust again, unable to stop himself.

Gaara had anticipated the motion, and swallowed to accommodate it.

"You're so..." he gasped. Naruto pulled, forcing Gaara down as he thrust upward again.

Gaara placed his hands on the side of the bed to steady himself, giving Naruto free reign to continue his erratic, shallow thrusts. He complimented each movement, sucking as Naruto retreated, clenching his tonsils when he advanced, and humming when he was fully buried.

He loved when Naruto was like this. When he finally lost control he was at his most primal— not counting the Kyuubi and its influences— and Gaara liked to think that he could drive Naruto to that extreme, so that every nerve in the blonde's body screamed for Sabaku no Gaara.

It was a poor substitute for actual intercourse. Even though Gaara was immensely aroused by the taste and feel of Naruto's cock on his tongue, it was different in more than just the physical when it was Naruto that was between his legs, and the movement of Naruto inside him that was what controlled his pleasure. However, considering he was already having trouble keeping the right muscle tension to even kneel, he doubted he'd last through even the most docile quickie. It wouldn't be fun for either of them, if he fainted in the middle of a romp.

Gaara caught him, holding him down as he whimpered, and hummed hard once more.

Naruto arched with a blind cry, and Gaara pulled back so that his cum would land on his tongue.

He moaned, as Naruto shuddered, and crashed down onto the bed several moments later. Gaara milked him for every last drop of his seed, even massaging his tensed balls to encourage a longer ejaculation.

He couldn't understand why Naruto hated the taste, because Gaara preferred to savor the bitter milk. Then again, that was how they generally were. Naruto liked the sweet things, while he liked the bitter.

With nothing left to give him, Naruto's softening length was allowed to fall from Gaara's lips, and, despite the growing pain in his lower back and ankles, Gaara climbed up over his dazed blonde.

He pushed up Naruto's shirt and lay across him, so that they were chest to chest. Gaara wished he had the energy to pull his shirt off, so he could feel Naruto's skin against his own. However, that would also probably invite some things he really wasn't up to handling.

He settled for laying his head on Naruto's rapidly rising and falling breast, giving his aching neck a break, and letting his fingers wander as he watched Naruto's flushed face.

Warm cerulean, foggy with the after glow, gradually focused on him. The blonde smirked as he noticed Gaara was still licking his lips. "Did that satisfy your appetite?"

Gaara pursed his lips, pretending to contemplate the matter, as one of his hands followed the masculine curve of Naruto's shoulder under his shirt, from bicep to neck. "Well... it was just a snack, really."

"Not enough for ya, huh?" Naruto grinned as he not-so-discretely felt Gaara's ass as his hand journeyed to the small of said redhead's back.

The Kazekage groaned quietly, his eyes nearly rolling in his head, as a calloused hand slipped under his shirt and found on of the many knots in his back. That was _exactly_ what he needed.

Naruto watched Gaara's face with greedy eyes, as the redhead practically melted into him. He briefly tussled with the urge to turn them both over, and show the redhead all the other ways he could warrant such a reaction from the Sand-nin.

But he didn't. Gaara was obviously exhausted, and had already expressed his displeasure at such pushiness. Naruto would honor his wishes even if he disagreed.

He frowned, remembering his behavior of only minutes before.

That had been unacceptable, to pester Gaara for sex when he had quite obviously denied him, especially with the Kazekage in such a state.

However, he hadn't been thinking like that before. With his mind so much clearer now, Naruto realized just how clouded his judgment and limited his thoughts had been.

"Ah..." Gaara purred, as Naruto's had worked its way farther, driving out the snarls and the stiffness. His lids had long fallen shut, and his entire body was lax and vulnerable in Naruto's arms.

Filled with resolve, Naruto hooked two fingers under his chin, and turned him to look him straight in the eye. Dreamy teal blinked open questioningly.

"I love you, Gaara," it was perhaps sterner than he meant to be, almost a reprimand, a product of his serious mood.

Gaara smiled, that timid flash of pearly whites that always took Naruto's breath away. He kissed the pad of Naruto's thumb, the closest skin available to him, and replied with a playful reprimand of his own. "I know that, now put that hand to work!"

There was a pain in his chest as Gaara settled down again, nearly burrowing into him with the way he wiggled.

"I love you," he repeated, willing the sorrow from his voice, and wrapped the fingers of his idle hand around Gaara's neck to work he muscles there. "I love you so much."

Because tomorrow he might forget to say it. Because tomorrow he might not _know_ to say it.

"I know," the redhead replied softly. "You don't need to tell me."

Naruto could have cried.

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**A/N: **Will Hinata side with the cannibals? Will Naruto and Gaara do the naughty next chapter? Will Tsunade ever stop asking questions?

How many flavors of ramen can Ichiraku Teuchi make?!

We will only find out-- dun Dun DUN-- next chapter!

Heh, this story is getting more dramatic and less bloody, I think. However, I can't wait until I get to write more violence in the next part! It'll be so much fun! (Yes, I'm a freak.)

Poor Naruto; poor, poor Gaara. One doesn't even know he's suffering half the time, and the other has to watch. Does this scenario remind anyone of Alzheimers? Or something along those lines? It certainly does for me, so I guess I've got a symbolism thing going on, even though I never really intended it.

Review! I wanna beat that 100 mark!

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